Android in China——The lure of the mobile kingdom
安卓系统在中国：手机王国的诱惑
Re-entering China will be hard for Google, but it may still try.
对于谷歌而言，重新进入中国市场将会困难重重，但它仍试图这么做。
“It's all speculation.” Google's reaction to reports that it is in talks with officials and handset-makers to launch an app store in China is no surprise.
“这一切都是猜测”，谷歌对于新闻报道做出的回应不足为奇。新闻报道称谷歌正与政府官员、手机生产商会谈，以期推出一个应用程序商店。
Such a move would be a high-profile reversal: in 2010 the firm shut down most of its Chinese operations or shifted them to Hong Kong in reaction to government demands to censor online-search results.
如此举措将会是一次高调的反转行动：2010年，该公司终止了其在中国运营的绝大多数项目，抑或将运营项目转移至香港，以回应政府审查在线搜索结果的要求。
Even so, on September 8th the firm did take a tentative step back into the country: Motorola, its former handset unit (now owned by Lenovo, a Chinese firm) , launched the first smartwatch supported by Google and powered by its operating system, Android, that understands Chinese voice commands.
即便如此，9月8日谷歌采取试探性措施重新进入中国市场：摩托罗拉——此前系谷歌的手机部门(现为中国的联想公司所拥有)，发布了第一款智能手表，由谷歌提供技术支持并以安卓为操作系统。安卓系统十分了解中文语音指令。
It would be remarkable if a company like Google (whose parent firm's chairman, Eric Schmidt, is a director of the Economist Group) were not carefully considering the pros and cons of going back into China in a bigger way.
倘若一家类似谷歌的企业未能谨慎考虑以大张旗鼓的方式进入中国市场的利弊问题，这将会是一件不同寻常的事情(谷歌母公司的董事长埃里克·施密特亦是经济学人集团的一名董事)。
Although its growth has slowed, the country is now the world's biggest mobile-device market, with more than 400m smartphones expected to be sold there this year.
尽管中国移动设备市场的增幅已趋缓慢，中国仍是现今全球最大的移动设备市场，预期本年度将售出逾4亿部智能手机。
Having no presence in China is a serious handicap in the battle with other tech giants, notably Apple.
在中国市场上的缺席构成了谷歌在与其他科技巨头(尤其是苹果)竞争中的不利因素。
Google's absence from China is threatening its control of Android.
谷歌在中国市场的缺席正威胁其对安卓系统的掌控。
Elsewhere, the operating system usually comes bundled with the firm's mobile services, such as the app store and digital maps.
在其他地方，该操作系统总是与谷歌的移动服务捆绑在一起而同时出现，例如应用程序商店以及数字地图。
Handset-makers which want Google's stamp of approval have to install these services on their devices and present them prominently.
手机生产商为获取谷歌的批准盖章，必须将这些移动服务装置在生产的设备上，并且以显眼的方式呈现出这些移动服务。
In China, since those Google services are unavailable, manufacturers use open-source versions of Android, which they can adapt as they see fit.
在中国，由于谷歌的服务不可使用，生产商运用了安卓系统的开源版本——生产商以他们所认为合适的方法改编原生的安卓系统。
As a result, the country's mobile market is much more fragmented, but also more competitive and innovative.
因此，中国的移动市场变得更加分裂化，但与此同时亦充满着竞争并且具有创新力。
It boasts hundreds of app stores.
中国自称拥有数百个应用程序商店。
Handset-makers, in particular Xiaomi, differentiate their products by, among other things, integrating them with local mobile services.
手机生产商，尤其是小米，通过将产品以及本土移动服务整合在一起，使得他们的产品在同类产品中得以脱颖而出。
Messaging apps such as WeChat have evolved into rival platforms which host many services similar to Google's.
即时通讯软件，例如微信，已经演化成了一个竞争平台——该平台所提供的服务与谷歌的相类似。
Not only are all new Android phones sold in China powered by a version of the software which is not certified by Google; the Chinese model is also now spreading to other developing countries, in particular India.
不仅在中国出售的所有新安卓手机由非谷歌认证的软件版本支持运行，中国模本正向其他发展中国家传播，尤其是印度。
Xiaomi, for instance, has big plans there.
例如小米，该公司针对印度市场有着庞大规划。
Teaming up with a big Chinese handset-maker, such as Huawei or ZTE, could help Google to stem the non-Google Android tide—not just in China, but everywhere else.
与中国大型手机生产商合作，如华为或中兴，将有助于谷歌遏制非谷歌原生安卓系统的浪潮——不仅是在中国，其他地方亦是如此。
Yet becoming a force in China's mobile market would be a struggle—for the same reason Microsoft has failed to make it big in smartphones, despite spending billions.
但成为中国移动市场中的一股势力将会是一场斗争——出于同样的原因，尽管微软耗费数十亿，扩展其在中国智能手机市场份额的举措仍以失败告终。
It is very hard to establish a mobile ecosystem of developers and handset-makers in a market where other firms—not just Xiaomi, but Baidu, Tencent (which operates WeChat) and others—are entrenched.
打造一个开发者和手机生产商的移动行业生态系统是十分困难的，在这个市场中其他企业已牢固确立其市场地位——不仅是小米，还有百度、腾讯(运营微信的公司)等其他企业。
There is still the small matter of reaching an accord with the Chinese government.
还面临着与中国政府达成协议的议题。
According to The Information, the website that first reported Google's putative app-store plans, the firm would block apps deemed objectionable and limit certain features, such as location information.
根据情报网——该网站最先报道了谷歌预定的应用程序商店计划，谷歌将限制其认为会遭中国政府反对的应用程序，并且限制特定功能的使用，例如地理位置信息。
Even then, the government might prefer to keep Google out of China—after all, its absence has been a boon for local champions.
即便如此，政府可能倾向于将谷歌拒之门外——毕竟，谷歌在中国市场的缺席对于本土的科技巨鳄会是莫大的福音。
“We are open to newer approaches. We'll have to wait and see,” Sundar Pichai, Google's new chief executive, said when asked about China recently.
“我们对于新的进入中国市场的方法持开放态度，同时我们必须等待并持观望姿态”，近期当被问及谷歌如何应对中国市场时，谷歌新任首席执行官桑达尔·皮查伊如此说道。
The firm whose motto is “Don't be evil” may be unable to resist returning to a country that isno more virtuous than when it left.
即使谷歌的信条是“不作恶徒”，它也很难抵抗回到中国这件事，现在这个国家并不比之前谷歌撤出时友善。
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