Apple Inc. s answer to the increasingly cutthroat tablet-computer market: more product choices and free software. 苹果(Apple Inc.)应付竞争日益白热化的平板电脑市场的法宝是：获取更好的产品自由选择，以及免费的软件。At an event here Tuesday, Apple showed off a new full-size tablet--now called iPad Air--that is thinner and slimmed down to one pound. It also revealed an updated iPad Mini with a faster processor and a sharper display. 在周二举办的苹果发布会上，该公司公布了一款新的全尺寸平板电脑。

新款平板电脑如今改名为iPad Air，比老款更加轻巧，重量降到大约一磅（约合0.45公斤）。苹果还公布了处理器速度更加慢、屏幕清晰度更高的新款iPad Mini。Just as important, Apples new holiday lineup lowers the entry price for the cheapest iPads to below $300 for the first time. Apple said it will sell a range of tablets starting with last years iPad Mini for $299, up to the new iPad Air, which starts at $499. That brings Apple closer in line with competitors like Amazon.com Inc., who have pushed tablet prices down as far as $229. 某种程度最重要的是，苹果的新产品阵容将使最低廉的iPad起价首次降到300美元以下。

苹果说道，它将销售一系列平板电脑，从去年发售的、售价299美元的iPad Mini到起价499美元的新款iPad Air。这将使苹果产品的价位更加相似亚马逊(Amazon.com Inc.)等竞争对手。

竞争对手已将平板电脑价格跌落低至229美元的水平。Apple also said it would offer for free access to its iWork productivity suite, which competes with Microsoft Corp.s Office, and iLife photo, movie and music making apps for customers buying new devices. The company used to charge between $4.99 and $9.99 for each program. 苹果还说道，它将向出售新的设备的顾客免费对外开放iWork办公室软件套装及iLife照片、电影及音乐制作应用于。

iWork办公室软件套装与微软公司(Microsoft Corp.)的Office相互竞争。该公司过去的作法是每个程序收费4.99美元至9.99美元。Following the announcements, Apples Chief Executive Tim Cook said the changes amounted to the biggest iPad announcement ever, by a large margin. 新产品公布后，苹果首席执行长库克(Tim Cook)说道，这些调整可以说道是迄今为止iPad作出的仅次于调整，大大多达了以往。Improved technical specs, coupled with free software, may help Apple appeal to more customers, particularly students and small businesses, said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights Strategy. Youre not paying extra money for the brand, youre getting real technology to back it up, he said. 咨询公司Moor Insights Strategy的分析师穆尔黑德(Patrick Moorhead)说道，升级的技术配备和免费的软件未来将会协助苹果更有更好的客户，尤其是学生和小企业。

他说道，你不是为了品牌多花钱，你享用到的是实实在在的技术，物有所值。The new iPads and changing software strategy come at a critical time for the Cupertino, Calif., gadget maker. For the first time, Apple sold fewer iPads in the three months ended in June than the same period a year earlier. Rivals including South Koreas Samsung Electronics Co. and Amazon are eroding Apples one-time dominance of the tablet market. 对总部坐落于加州丘珀蒂诺(Cupertino)的设备生产商苹果来说，新款iPad的发售和软件策略的调整正值一个最重要时刻。在截至6月的三个月中，苹果iPad的销量较上年同期首次经常出现下降。

还包括韩国公司三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)和亚马逊在内的竞争对手正在风化苹果曾多次在平板电脑市场的主导地位。Research firm Gartner expects Apples share of the tablet market to fall below 50% this year, down from 54% last year and 65% in 2011. Tablets powered by Google Inc. s Android software are expected to hit as much as 50% of the market this year, up from about 45% last year. 研究公司Gartner预计，今年苹果在平板电脑市场的份额将下降至50%以下，高于去年的54%和2011年的65%。

预计配备谷歌(Google Inc.)安卓(Android)系统的平板电脑今年的市场份额平均50%，而去年大约为45%。Nokia Corp. unveiled its first tablet computer Tuesday. Also Tuesday, Microsoft, which plans to acquire Nokias mobile-computing business, put the second version of its Surface tablet on sale. 诺基亚(Nokia Corp.)周二公布了首款平板电脑。

某种程度是在周二，微软公司的第二版Surface平板电脑预售。微软公司于是以计划并购诺基亚的移动计算出来业务。Google, Sony Corp. and Asian manufacturers including Asustek Computer Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd. are pushing tablets of their own. 谷歌、索尼公司(Sony Corp.)以及还包括华硕(Asustek Computer Inc.)和联想集团(Lenovo Group Ltd.)在内的亚洲生产商都在直言自己的平板电脑产品。Apples answer this year was to fix complaints about its current lineup, adding in its latest processor, the A7, to the new devices, making the iPad lighter and giving the iPad Mini a sharper screen. 苹果今年的战略是解决问题针对当前产品阵容的一些责怪，比如在新的设备上用于了近期的A7处理器，以及让iPad显得更加重、为iPad Mini配有更加高分辨率的屏幕。

The iPad Air goes on sale in the U.S. and a host of other countries, including China, on Nov. 1. The new iPad Mini will go on sale later in November, the company said. iPad Air将于11月1日在美国和还包括中国在内的其他一些国家开卖。苹果说道，新款iPad Mini将在11月晚些时候预售。I cant think of another product thats come so far, so fast, Mr. Cook said during the event, noting that Apple has sold more than 170 million iPads. 库克在发布会上说道，我想不出还有哪种产品能如此较慢地做如此程度。

他认为，苹果早已售出了逾1.7亿部iPad。One bright spot for the company is that even as it loses market share, its customers remain the heaviest users of tablets. 对该公司而言，一个好消息是，即便它丧失了一些市场份额，其客户依然是最“重度”的平板电脑使用者。Mobile-advertising firm Chitika Inc. says 84.3% of the website traffic from tablets that it analyzed in June came from iPads. Amazons Kindle Fire tablet ranked second, with 5.7% of Web traffic, followed by Samsungs Galaxy tablets, with 4.2%. Usage of the iPad increased from May to June, Chitika said, while the others declined. 移动广告公司Chitika Inc.说道，该公司6月份分析的数据指出，平板电脑上84.3%的网络流量来自iPad。

亚马逊的Kindle Fire平板电脑名列第二，占到比5.7%，之后是三星的Galaxy平板电脑，占到比4.2%。Chitika说道，从5月到6月间，iPad的用于情况有所快速增长，而其他平板电脑则经常出现上升。Regardless of what you might hear or read about how many are sold or activated, iPad is used more than any of the rest, Mr. Cook said, adding that the iPad is used four times more than competitors. 库克说道，不管你听见、读书到任何有关买了多少、转录了多少的信息，iPad的用于情况比任何其他品牌都低。

他还补足说道，iPad的用于情况是竞争对手的四倍还多。Among other announcements, Apple said a new version of its computer operating system, OS X Mavericks, along with updates to 20 more of its apps, would be available for existing customers to download free immediately. In the past, Apple has typically charged for major software updates, particularly for its OS X operating system. 苹果宣告的其他消息还包括，新版的电脑操作系统OS X Mavericks以及对该系统应用于的20个升级将迅速就能供现有顾客免费iTunes。过去，苹果一般来说不会对根本性升级收费，尤其是OS X操作系统。With the free software approach, we are turning the industry on its ear, Mr. Cook said. 库克说道，这个免费软件的策略将令整个行业气象一新。

Apple also unveiled a slate of new computers. Its latest MacBook Pro laptop computers will start at a price of $1,299, about $200 less than past models, while its high-end Mac Pro desktop computer will start at $2,999. 苹果还发售了一系列新的电脑。最新型的MacBook Pro笔记本电脑的起价是1,299美元，比以往的型号较低了约200美元。而高端的Mac Pro台式电脑的起价为2,999美元。

本文来源：皇冠手机登陆官网-www.photaero.com