经济学人143:安卓系统,要当心了

 　　HTC's patent problems

　　HTC的专利问题

　　Android alert

　　安卓系统，要当心了

　　Using Google’s Android software has given HTC a boost, but it may now make the Taiwanese handset-maker vulnerable to costly¹ lawsuits²

　　使用谷歌的安卓软件推动了宏达电（HTC）的发展，但是现在它可能变成弱点，令这家台湾手机制造公司遭遇昂贵的诉讼

　　Jul 21st 2011 | TAOYUAN, TAIWAN | from The Economist³ print edition

　　UNTIL a few years ago HTC was pretty small and relatively⁴ obscure. But the Taiwanese company’s recent growth has been remarkable⁵. In the second quarter it sold 11m smartphones, more than doubling its revenues in the same period last year. HTC’s main rivals, Nokia, Samsung and Apple, still sell around twice as many smartphones. But its rapid growth, especially on Apple’s American home turf, has made it a competitor to reckon with.

　　几年前HTC还只是一个规模很小、相对不知名的公司。但是这家台湾公司最近的业绩增长却有目共睹。今年第二季度它共出售了1100万部智能手机，收入比去年同期增加了一倍多。HTC的主要竞争对手诺基亚、三星和苹果公司卖出的智能手机仍然是HTC的大概两倍。但是它的快速崛起、特别是在苹果的美国老家的迅速发展，已经使它成为不容小觑的对手。

　　One reason for HTC’s surging sales is the relentless⁶ pace of its innovation: in the past quarter, in which Apple had no new iPhone to launch, HTC introduced ten new models. Another is Google’s Android operating system, on which most of HTC’s smartphones are now based, which has proved a hit among consumers.

　　HTC手机销量猛增的原因之一是它源源不断的创新：上个季度，苹果公司没有发布任何新款iPhone，但是HTC却推出了10款新机型。还有一个原因是谷歌的安卓操作系统，现在HTC智能手机的大部分都以此系统为平台，它在消费者中间非常受欢迎。

　　Apple has not taken the challenge from HTC lightly. On July 15th the US International Trade Commission upheld two claims in a larger patent suit Apple had filed against its rival. Earlier in the month, Apple had filed additional claims and MOSAID, a Canadian company, said it would also sue HTC, and Sony Ericsson, for patent infringement⁷. The outcome of these cases will be of keen interest not just for HTC but for other handset-makers using Android: promoted as a free, open-source system, it is proving surprisingly expensive. This is because it relies on a host of basic features that may be subject to patents: how a screen is swiped with a finger, how a phone number embedded⁸ in an e-mail can be called by tapping it, and so on.

　　苹果公司并未轻视来自HTC的挑战。7月15日，在苹果公司起诉HTC的一起比较大的专利诉讼案中，美国国际贸易委员会裁决HTC侵犯苹果公司的两项专利。本月初，苹果公司还起诉HTC侵犯了自己另外几项专利，而加拿大公司MOSAID称它也要起诉HTC和索尼爱立信侵犯专利。这些案件的结果不仅关系到HTC的直接利益，同时也关系到其他使用安卓系统的手机制造商的切身利益：安卓系统以免费、开放资源的姿态推广入市，但现在证明它会非常得贵。这是因为它的一些基本特色也许涉及到专利：触摸屏、电邮里的电话号码能直接拨打等等。

　　Last year HTC resolved another claim over Android, with Microsoft, agreeing to pay it hefty royalties⁹. More such suits may yet emerge, and prove costly. HTC’s shares, having hitherto outperformed its peers’, have dropped by a third since early June. HTC will appeal against the trade commission’s ruling; but it will fight back in other ways, too. This month it spent $300m buying a loss-making software firm, S3, which recently won a patent case against Apple and may have other patents that will be useful in fending¹⁰ off Apple’s legal forays.

　　去年，HTC也解决了一起有关安卓系统的专利问题，它同意向微软支付巨额专利费用。更多这样的诉讼也许还会浮出水面，而且代价高昂。HTC的股价目前已经胜过同行们的了，而自6月初以来已经下跌了三分之一。HTC将就贸易委员会的裁决提起上诉；不过它也从其他方面予以反击。本月，它耗资3亿美元收购了亏损软件公司S3，这家公司最近在与苹果的专利案中胜诉，它也许还有其他专利能帮助HTC应对苹果的法律突袭。

　　Founded in 1997, HTC started out mostly doing contract manufacturing for other gadget-sellers. But as it has gained confidence in making smartphones under its own brand, it has steadily¹¹ risen up mobile operators’ lists of the handsets they promote to subscribers. By April this year it had a bigger market capitalisation than troubled Nokia. The firm’s success has pushed Cher Wang, its chairwoman and largest shareholder¹², to the top of Forbes’s Taiwan rich list, passing Terry Gou, the boss of Hon Hai. HTC has kept much of its production in Taiwan whereas Hon Hai (also known as Foxconn) has shifted it to mainland China and stuck with contract manufacturing—a business that emphasises cost-trimming and low value-added.

　　HTC成立于1997年，最初主要为其他小机械销售者做代工。但是随着在制造自己品牌智能机方面积累起了信心，它在移动运营商向用户推荐的手机名单中的地位平稳上升。到今年4月，它的市场资本化已经比身陷困境的诺基亚公司要大了。HTC的成功使得其董事长、也是最大的股东王雪红女士超过鸿海集团董事长郭台铭荣登福布斯台湾富人榜榜首。HTC的生产多保留在台湾省内，而鸿海集团（也就是富士康集团）则把生产移向中国大陆，继续做代工——它注重节省成本和低附加值。

　　HTC has shown remarkable speed in building new products, adapting to changing telecoms standards and developing its own applications software. And its manufacturing quality has been remarkably¹³ high. Unlike rivals HTC has not suffered unpleasant headlines about shoddy products or suicides at its factories. It has made progress in building a brand that reflects innovation and trust, allowing it to escape from the low-cost treadmill¹⁴ on which some of its peers remain stuck.

　　HTC制造新产品非常迅速，也能很快地适应电信商的标准、开发自己的应用软件。其生产质量之高令人瞩目。不同于竞争对手，HTC并未因劣质产品或是工厂里员工自杀而登上头条惹一身麻烦。在建立一个反应创新和信任的品牌方面它取得了进步，这使得它能从禁锢了一些同行的低成本枯燥无味的工作中逃脱出来。

　　But there is a risk that Android, a key element in this successful strategy, is turning into a vulnerability. Apple sees its patents as a weapon to undermine Android’s cost advantage. The more time HTC has to spend fighting lawsuits, and the greater the share of its revenues it has to pay out in software royalties, the harder it will be to keep up its remarkable run of success.

　　但是风险在于这种成功策略的关键因素之一安卓系统正转变为致命弱点。苹果公司以专利作为武器削弱安卓的价格优势。HTC花在反抗诉讼上的时间越多，它在软件专利费上支出的钱占其收入的份额越大，那么它就越难保持巨大的优势。

1 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

2 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

7 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

8 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

9 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

10 fending   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的现在分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He is always spending his time fending with the neighbors. 他总是与邻里们吵架。 来自互联网
• Fifth, it is to build safeguarding system and enhance the competence in fending off the risk. 五是建立政策保障体系，提高防范和抵御风险的能力。 来自互联网

11 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

12 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

13 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

14 treadmill   

n.踏车；单调的工作

参考例句：

• The treadmill has a heart rate monitor.跑步机上有个脉搏监视器。
• Drugs remove man from the treadmill of routine.药物可以使人摆脱日常单调的工作带来的疲劳。