[科技前沿]中國大陸用戶如何“搶鮮”體驗iPhone

Apple Readies IPhone For China Launch

IPhone's Been A Long Time Comin' In China. Some Consumers Couldn't Wait

Even as Apple (AAPL) gears up to officially launch the iPhone in China, as many as 1.5 million consumers in China have already managed to get their hands on one through various unofficial channels. Below, the main methods for buying an iPhone (or something resembling one) in China now.

Gray Market

A Beijing Internet company employee - who asks that only his surname, Shang, be used - bought his first-generation iPhone at mobile-phone market in the capital's famed Zhongguancun electronics shopping district, just a few months after its June 2007 release in the U.S. He paid 5,500 yuan, or about $800, for the privilege of being one of China's earliest iPhone adopters.

'I was very much interested in its large touch-screen design. At the same time, it also serves as a multimedia player and game machine. I was attracted by all these functions,' he says. An Apple lover, Shang counts many of the company's products among his gadgets: MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, iPod Classic and iPod Nano.

Shang divides iPhone users into two groups: Those simply fascinated by its unique design; and those with a thorough understanding of Apple products and the Mac operating system. 'I purchase applications in App Store and download the de-coded ones from the Web as well,' Shang says. 'I also use Mobile Me service, which is a good combination with iPhone.'

Still, he points out a few problems using his iPhone. 'For instance, the input method is not good and convenient enough' for writing Chinese characters. 'It's not easy to forward messages. When trying to open a couple of Web pages at the same time, the browser might refuse to work.'

'But still, I think it's already the best high-end phone, even with these many problems,' he says.

Jessica Wu, a 26-year-old trading company employee in Nanjing, bought her 8-gigabyte iPhone for about $670 at a mobile phone market in Feb. 2008. Her unit is 'jailbroken,' which allows her to download applications from Apple's App Store. One problem with her phone is that every time she upgrades the software, she has to jailbreak it again. 'Original iPhones can be upgraded directly through iTunes, which is more convenient.'

But it's a small price to pay, she says. 'To some extent, iphone and other Apple products are considered a status symbol.'

Buying Outside China

Zhang May, a 28-year-old from Shanghai asked a friend to buy her an iPhone in the U.S. two years ago. She paid $399. 'I chose iPhone because of its good brand, good quality and good function,' she said. Zhang says she's had no major problems using her jailbroken iPhone in China.

Hong Kong a self-run Chinese city where the iPhone is already officially sold has been a popular place to pick up a legally unlocked iPhones without a SIM card or any type of commitment to a local cellular plan. Mainland Chinese residents can visit the city easier these days than in the past, and those who have access to a Hong Kong mailing address can also make purchases via Hong Kong's online Apple Store. Current prices range from HK$4,488 to HK$6,288, or about $580 to $810.

The Shanzhai Route

Those with less money can hope that the iPhone's official launch in China will bring lower prices. Or, as many in China have done already, they may just seek to satisfy their yearning for the iPhone look from one of the numerous shanzhai versions for sale in China's mobile phone markets, often alongside the real (gray market) iPhones. Often-seen copycats include the 'HiPhone' the 'iPhone Mini' and the 'iOrgane.'

雖然蘋果公司(Apple)加快了在中國正式推出iPhone，但中國至多有150萬消費者已經通過各種非官方渠道弄到了iPhone。以下是目前在中國買到iPhone（或山寨iPhone）的幾種主要途徑。

灰色市場

模特兒正在展示iPhone（照片攝於香港）2007年6月，第一代iPhone在美國發布，過了沒幾個月，北京一家互聯網公司的員工小尚（音）在有名的中關村電子商業區的手機市場買了一臺。他花了人民幣5,500元（約合800美元），成了中國最早用上iPhone的人之一。

他說，我對它的大尺寸觸摸屏設計非常感興趣。同時它還可以作爲多媒體播放器和遊戲機。這些功能都吸引了我。身爲蘋果發燒友的小尚列舉了他擁有的諸多蘋果產品：MacBook Pro筆記本電腦、Mac Mini臺式電腦，還有iPod Classic和iPod Nano兩款播放器。

小尚將iPhone用戶分爲兩類：一類是單純地爲其獨特的設計着迷；另一類則對蘋果產品和Mac操作系統有着深入瞭解。他說，我會從App Store購買應用軟件，也會在網上下載經過解碼的軟件。我還使用蘋果的Mobile Me服務，它跟iPhone結合得很好。

不過他也指出了使用iPhone的一些問題。比如說漢字輸入法就不太好，不夠方便。轉發信息很難。同時打開幾個網頁時，瀏覽器可能無法運行。

他說，不過我還是覺得即使有這些問題，它也已經是最好的高端手機了。

26歲的Jessica Wu是南京一家貿易公司的職員，她2008年2月在一家手機市場以大約670美元買了自己那臺8G的iPhone。她那臺iPhone是破解版，可以從蘋果的App Store下載應用軟件。她使用中的一個問題是，每次升級軟件時都必須重新破解。她說，原版iPhone可以直接通過iTunes升級，更方便。

她說，不過這只是個小小的代價。在某種程度上，iPhone和其他蘋果產品被視爲一種身份的象徵。

從國外買

28歲的張梅（音）來自上海，兩年前她讓朋友幫忙從美國買了一臺iPhone，花了399美元。她說，我選擇iPhone是因爲它的品牌、質量和功能都很棒。她說自己在中國使用破解過的iPhone沒遇到過什麼大問題。

作爲中國特區的香港已經有iPhone的官方版出售，許多人都喜歡到香港買合法解鎖的iPhone，不帶SIM卡，也不在香港入網。中國大陸居民現在到香港比以前更換容易，而如果有香港通信地址的話，還可以通過香港的網絡蘋果商店(Apple Store)購買。目前的價格從4,488港元（約580美元）到6,288港元（約810美元）不等。

“山寨”路線

沒那麼有錢的人們可以寄希望於iPhone在中國官方發佈時價格會低點。或是像中國許多人已經做出的那樣，他們可以在手機市場裏的無數山寨版iPhone中來上一臺，滿足自己對iPhone外觀的渴望，這些山寨iPhone常常跟“灰色市場”的正品iPhone擺在一起。常見的山寨版包括“HiPhone”、“iPhone Mini”和“桔子手機”（iOrgane)。