华盛顿邮报:苹果和谷歌在中国找到了共同的朋友
译者 kennethcarey
July 6 (Bloomberg) -- In most of the world, Apple Inc. and Google Inc. are in an escalating battle to rule smartphone maps. In China, they’ve found a common friend they can’t live without.
7月6日——在世界大部分地方,苹果和谷歌为争夺只能手机地图的战争不断白热化。而在中国,他们却发现了一个他们都不能缺少的共同的朋友。
Apple has selected AutoNavi Holdings Ltd. as a partner for maps on future iPhones and iPads in China, said two people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified before an announcement. The Beijing-based maps company has worked with Google since 2006.
苹果选择了高德地图公司最为为了Iphone和Ipad在中国的地图合作伙伴,两个消息灵通人士这样说道,他们要求匿名。而这家总部位于北京的地图公司自从2006年开始就和谷歌合作了。
AutoNavi is the same company that Google has used for maps partnerships since 2006.
谷歌从2006年开始便把高德作为地图合作伙伴
Apple’s decision gives AutoNavi a leg up against its chief rival, NavInfo Co., which works with Baidu Inc., Nokia Oyj, and Toyota Motor Corp. The two Chinese companies are locked in a tight competition: AutoNavi, which also works with Microsoft Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co., had 45 percent of China’s mobile map data market in the first-quarter, versus 43 percent for NavInfo, according to researcher Analysys International.
苹果的决定是的高德地图领先了其主要竞争对手四维图新一步,四维图新是百度、诺基亚以及丰田汽车公司的合作伙伴。这两家中国公司一直以来都在进行这激烈的竞争。高德地图同时也是微软和三星的合作伙伴,在第一季度占到了中国手机地图数据市场的45%,而四维图新占了43%。
“When Apple comes into China, they want to choose the best map they can, and lo and behold, they choose AutoNavi,” said Jake Lynch, who rates AutoNavi a buy at Macquarie Group Ltd. in Shanghai. “By getting onto all the new iPhones and iPads, AutoNavi will be increasing their users pretty dramatically.”
“苹果进入中国的时候,他们试图寻找最好的地图,令人惊讶的,他们选择了高德,”麦格理集团的杰克.林奇在上海这样说道。“当所有的新Ipad和Iphong装上高德地图后,高端的用户将会有巨大的增长。”
Mobile e-commerce in China will generate 305 billion yuan ($48 billion) of transactions annually by 2015, 26 times the value last year, and about 20 percent of the market will rely on location-based technology, industry analyst iResearch estimates. Mobile marketing may jump 10-fold to 24.5 billion yuan a year, more than one-fifth of which will use technology that matches merchants with consumers based on their whereabouts, according to iResearch.
移动电子商务到2015年每年将会创造3050亿元的产值,去年的26倍,而大概20%的市场将会依赖于定位技术,工业分析师Iresearch预计。Iresearch预计移动营销将会翻十倍达到245亿元每年,超过五分之一将会使用定位技术来让商户和消费者寻找到对方。
Google Bumped
谷歌不淡定了
After using Google Maps on the iPhone and iPad for years, Apple in June introduced its own mapping service for the next version of its mobile-device software. In China, owners of those devices will use AutoNavi’s map service and data instead of Apple’s. Beta, or test, versions of the software show AutoNavi’s logo on maps.
在Ipad和Iphone用谷歌地图好多年后,苹果七月引入了其新一代的移动设备软件的地图服务。在中国,这些设备的拥有者们将会用高德地图的服务和数据而不是苹果的。测试版的软件已经在地图上显示了高德的商标。
Just a dozen companies -- all of them Chinese -- have licenses for collecting map survey data. That means Apple, Google, and other foreigners need local partners such as AutoNavi or NavInfo to make their maps, according to Yan Xiaojia, an analyst at Analysys.
只有十二家公司——都是中国公司——拥有收集地图数据的拍照。这意味着苹果、谷歌和其他外国公司需要像高德和四维图新这样的本地合作伙伴来为他们制作。
AutoNavi fell 0.2 percent to $12.93 at 12:15 p.m. in New York today. The stock has gained 29 percent this year, outperforming the Shenzhen-traded shares of NavInfo, which have declined 27 percent.
高德今天12:15分下跌了0.2%到12.93美元,该股票今年上涨了29%,胜过了深圳上市的四维图新,四维图新下跌了27%。
Mobile Ad Sales
移动广告销售
Apple’s change from Google Maps will hurt mobile advertising sales at the search-engine company, said Nancy Shen, an analyst at iResearch. About a third of Google Map users in China currently access the service via Apple devices, Analysys estimates.
苹果放弃谷歌地图将会损害到这家搜索引擎公司的移动广告销售,Iresearch的南希沈说,中国大概三分之一的谷歌地图使用者是通过苹果的设备接入该服务的,分析师预计。
Helen Zhu, an investor relations manager at AutoNavi in Beijing, declined to comment on the company’s business with Apple. Carolyn Wu, a spokeswoman at Apple in Beijing, declined to comment on the company’s mobile map service in China.
海伦朱是北京高德的一个投资者公关经理,他拒绝对该公司和苹果的生意发表评论。卡罗琳吴是苹果在北京的发言人,拒绝对该公司在中国的移动地图服务发表评论。
Google seeks to “build the perfect map for our users in the months and years ahead,” the company said in an e-mailed statement, declining to comment on its maps service in China.
谷歌寻求“在未来几个月、几年内为我们的用户提供完美的地图服务,”该公司在一份电子邮件声明中说,拒绝对该公司在中国的地图服务发表评论。
AutoNavi’s digital mapmaking business started with its car navigation products. The company, like Google, has a fleet of specially outfitted vehicles to take photos and uses satellite and infrared imaging to capture data for its maps.
高德的地图服务开始于其汽车导航产品。该公司和谷歌一样,有一群专门配备的车辆来拍照,并用卫星和红外线图像来为地图收集数据。
Chairman Jun Hon, a former official at the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, co-founded AutoNavi in 2002 with Chief Executive Officer Congwu Cheng to make car navigation systems. The company obtained a surveying and mapping license in 2004 to provide digital maps data.
俊宏主席曾是北京公安局的前官员,他在2002年和CEO程崇武一起组建了高德公司来生产汽车导航系统。该公司2004年获得提供数字地图的牌照。
Market Share
市场占有率
In 2010, AutoNavi set up a map venture in China with TomTom NV. Last month, the Amsterdam company said it signed an agreement to supply map content to Apple.
2010年高德和Tomto导航一起建立了一家地图公司,上个月,这家阿姆斯特丹公司说他们签了一个为苹果提供地图内容的协议。
NavInfo maps data were installed on more than 37 million handsets at the end of last year, the company said in an e-mail. NavInfo said it also supplies data for devices made by Samsung, Motorola Mobility, and Sony Corp.
到去年年底,四维图新的数据被安装在超过3700万不手机上,该公司在一份电子邮件中说。四维图新说他们同时为三星、摩托罗拉和索尼制造的设备提供数据。
By comparison, AutoNavi had 52 million users for its mobile maps app at the end of March, according to its first-quarter report.
相比之下,高德的一季度报告显示,其手机地图应用到三月底有5200万用户。
Spending to expand mobile mapping has crimped earnings at AutoNavi. The company’s first-quarter profit fell 16 percent to $8.9 million as operating expenses and research-and-development costs increased.
花钱去拓展手机地图领域让高德的盈利有所波动。该公司的一季度利润下降了16%达到8900万美金,因为运营费用和研发费用上涨了。
The company is working with Internet operators including Ctrip.com International Ltd., China’s biggest online travel site, and e-commerce provider Lashou.com to integrate information including hotel and restaurant locations into its maps.
该公司正在和互联网运营商合作,包括中国最大的旅游网站携程网,和电子商务提供商拉手网。
AutoNavi is diversifying into technology for consumer devices more quickly than NavInfo, according to Hu Jiaming, an analyst at Capital Securities Corp. in Shanghai.
高德相比四维图新能够更快的将技术应用到消费领域,上海首都保全公司的分析师胡佳明这样认为。
“NavInfo is still much more focused on its auto division,” Hu said. “Some of the company’s partners in mobile maps, such as Nokia, are not doing too well.”
“四维图新仍然更多的专注于其汽车部门,”胡先生说,“该公司的一些合作伙伴,例如诺基亚,状况不是很好。”