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????我曾在一篇專(zhuān)欄中寫(xiě)道，如果蘋(píng)果（Apple）希望iPhone在中國(guó)市場(chǎng)上大賣(mài),，就應(yīng)該堅(jiān)定不移地出銀色版iPhone,。事實(shí)證明這是我錯(cuò)得最離譜的一次。 ????這大概也就是一年前的事,。當(dāng)時(shí)傳聞蘋(píng)果即將推出一款香檳色iPhone,，因?yàn)榻鹕谥袊?guó)是身份的象征。我查找了關(guān)于各國(guó)人色彩偏好的市場(chǎng)調(diào)研,，還找到了杜邦公司（Dupont）發(fā)布的一份圖表,，該圖表顯示，在中國(guó)銀色汽車(chē)最暢銷(xiāo),，而非金色,。 ????但事實(shí)證明，汽車(chē)與手機(jī)是兩碼事,。 ????金色版的iPhone5S在中國(guó)大獲成功,，很快在香港和中國(guó)大陸銷(xiāo)售一空。在紐約,，購(gòu)買(mǎi)無(wú)鎖版土豪金iPhone5S的買(mǎi)家排起了長(zhǎng)隊(duì),。很快，在中國(guó)的“灰市”,，金色版iPhone手機(jī)每部需要加價(jià)數(shù)百美元才能買(mǎi)到,。 ????蘋(píng)果當(dāng)時(shí)就似乎胸有成竹。去年十二月,，它終于與全球最大的運(yùn)營(yíng)商——中國(guó)移動(dòng)達(dá)成了分銷(xiāo)協(xié)議,。今年二月，中國(guó)移動(dòng)宣布,，使用該公司全新4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)的手機(jī)中,，一半以上是iPhone。截至上上周,，中國(guó)移動(dòng)的4G網(wǎng)絡(luò)用戶(hù)已超過(guò)1400萬(wàn)。 ????蒂姆?庫(kù)克日前向分析師們表示：“中國(guó)著實(shí)令我們吃驚,。我們知道在中國(guó)市場(chǎng)的銷(xiāo)售會(huì)很強(qiáng)勁,，但結(jié)果比我們預(yù)想的還要好得多。我們的營(yíng)收（包括零售在內(nèi)）增長(zhǎng)了26%,，而如果按銷(xiāo)售的產(chǎn)品數(shù)量計(jì),，可謂全面飆升，產(chǎn)品銷(xiāo)量的增速高達(dá)48%，而市場(chǎng)預(yù)期為24%,，所以實(shí)際增速是市場(chǎng)預(yù)期的兩倍,。” ????署名“杰克在首爾”（Jake_in_Seoul）的一位駐外美國(guó)讀者說(shuō)：“香檳金版iPhone令蘋(píng)果賺得盆滿(mǎn)缽滿(mǎn),，提議推出該模型的員工應(yīng)該獲得重獎(jiǎng),。” ????常讀這個(gè)專(zhuān)欄的讀者都知道,，“杰克”對(duì)亞洲智能手機(jī)市場(chǎng)的觀察十分敏銳,。今年1月，我們轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)了他從中國(guó)發(fā)來(lái)的一封信,，令中國(guó)的iPhone故事更生動(dòng)起來(lái),。 ????“iPhone在中國(guó)沒(méi)有占據(jù)市場(chǎng)支配地位，但用的人也不少,，有錢(qián)有勢(shì)的人（比如說(shuō)房地產(chǎn)大亨）肯定都是用iPhone,，但出人意料的是，飯店職員甚至面館小妹也可能用著iPhone,。購(gòu)iPhone與否,，似乎取決于心態(tài)?！?/p> ????“在一次閑聊中,，我聽(tīng)到三星（在中國(guó)采用其漢字名稱(chēng)）被人稱(chēng)作‘中國(guó)手機(jī)’品牌，太逗了,。我懷疑不少人都存在這種誤解,，三星肯定對(duì)此很困擾?！?/p> |
????The dumbest column I ever wrote was the one that suggested that if Apple wanted to sell a lot of iPhones in China it should stick with silver. ????This was just about a year ago. Rumors were flying that Apple was about to launch a champagne-gold iPhone because gold was such a prestigious color in China. I went looking for market research on national color preferences, and the closest thing I could find was a Dupont chart that showed that the best-selling automobile color in China was silver, not gold. ????Cars, it turns out, are not the same as phones. ????The gold iPhone 5S was a huge hit in China. It sold out immediately in Hong Kong and the mainland. Customers in New York City buying for export lined up around the block. Gold iPhones were soon commanding mark-ups of several hundred dollar apiece in China’s grey markets. ????Apple, it seems, knew what it was doing. In December it finally cut a distribution deal with China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier. In February, China Mobile announced that iPhones accounted for more than half of the phones on its brand new 4G network. By last week, that network had grown to more than 14 million subscribers. ????“China, honestly was surprising to us,” Tim Cook told analysts last week. “We thought it would be strong but it went well past what we thought. We came in at 26% of revenue growth, including retail and if you look at the units, the unit growth was really off the charts across the board. I found 48% growth that compares to a market estimate of 24%. So growing it two times the market.” ????“Whoever proposed the champagne gold model can’t be rewarded enough for the cascading benefits Apple has enjoyed from it,” writes an American ex-pat who posts here as Jake_in_Seoul. ????Jake, as regulars here know, is a keen observer of the Asian smartphone market. In January we re-posted a letter he wrote from China that adds some color (pardon the pun) to the Chinese iPhone story: ????“iPhones here are not predominant, but are readily seen, certainly in the hands of wealthy and powerful, (e.g., a local real estate tycoon), but also surprisingly owned by the likes of hotel clerks and a remarkable noodle shop girl. Ownership seems to be a state of mind. ????“I was amused in a casual conversation to hear Samsung (known in China by its Chinese/Korean character name San Xing Sanxing = “Three Stars”) referred to as a “Chinese phone”… I suspect this misunderstanding may not be uncommon and hence highly aggravating to Samsung. |
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