2015考研英语阅读谷歌收购摩托罗拉

　　Googles takeover of Motorola Mobility

　　Google收购摩托罗拉移动部分

　　WHEN smartphones were still young and computing tablets not yet born, some analystspredicted that the market for mobile devices would sooner or later look much like that forpersonal computers : there would be a clear division of labour and intellectual propertybetween makers of hardware and software; a dominant operating system would emerge; andApple would again become a niche player.

　　在智能手机初现江湖、平板电脑尚未问世之时，有些分析人士就预言移动通信设备市场迟早会变得和个人电脑PC市场一样：软硬件制造商之间分工明确，拥有各自的知识产权;有一个操作系统会一统江湖;而苹果将再次扮演只做特定群体买卖的角色。

　　If proof is still needed, Googles takeover of Motorola Mobility is the strongest sign yet that thiswill not come to pass, at least in the near future. On the contrary, the mobile-device industrywill bear a closer resemblance to its other parent: the market for old-fashioned, voice-onlyhandsets.

　　不过至少在短期内，这一预言是不会成真了，假如你一定要我给个证据，Google收购摩托罗拉就是最有力的证明。相反，移动设备行业的市场状况倒是会与它的另一位生父更为相似，那就是：只有通话功能的老式手机。

　　Start with intellectual property. In contrast with PC makers, firms in the telecoms industryhave long fought over patents. If such disputes are even more common over todays mobiledevices , it is because they are exceedingly complex and based on intellectualproperty from many different industries.

　　先从知识产权说起。与PC制造商相比，电信企业对专利的争夺由来已久，而由于移动设备极其复杂，其知识产权来源于各行各业，知识产权纠纷在今时今日会变得更为普遍。

　　Gaining control of Motorolas big patent portfolio will provide Google with ammunition in theongoing battle between mobile platforms. Android, Googles operating system for smartphonesand other devices, has taken the world by storm. Its global market share is approaching 50% . Yet Apple and Microsoft have found a way to slow down, and even benefit fromAndroids advance: going after makers of smartphones running Android for patentinfringements.

　　将摩托罗拉庞大的专利网收入囊中，这为Google参与激战正酣的移动平台争夺战提供了弹药。Google开发的智能手机及移动设备操作系统安卓Android正席卷全球。其全球市场份额正接近50%。不过苹果和微软找到了应对之策，这两家公司甚至还从安卓的发展中受益：状告安卓智能手机制造商专利侵权。

　　This tactic has put a price on Android, which Googlegives away free. In early 2010 HTC, a leading vendorof Android devices, agreed to pay royalties toMicrosoft for the use of its patents. And in July Applewon a legal victory against HTC which could lead toeven higher payments.

　　安卓本由Google免费发布，但两家公司的这一策略给安卓系统标上了价码。2010年初，安卓设备头号供应商HTC同意向微软支付专利费，同年7月，苹果打赢了与HTC的官司，这会让HTC支付更高的费用。

　　Googles acquisition also illustrates the seconddifference between the markets for PCs and mobile devices: the latter will be more verticallyintegrated. Apples big advantage is controlling all parts of its products, from the user interfaceto the processor. It is thus able to fine-tune them, for instance to keep power consumption lowor make touch screens react faster. Most devices powered by Android are not as highlyoptimisedwhich helps to explain why Android tablets, for instance, have yet to catch up withApples iPad.

　　Google的收购还阐明了 PC市场与移动设备市场的第二个不同之处：后者更倾向于垂直整合。苹果的主要优势在于它控制着产品的一切，从用户界面到处理器。因此，苹果可以精细调整其产品，比如保持低耗电量或让触屏反应更迅速。而大部分安卓设备则做不到如此高度的优化，以安卓平板电脑为例，这也许就是它还赶不上苹果iPad的原因。

　　Owning a handset-maker allows Google to better integrate software and hardware. At thesame time, the firm cannot copy Apples model completely. If it is seen to favour Motorolasproducts, other device makers might abandon Android. This would defeat the operatingsystems purpose: making sure that Googles servicesand thus its lucrative advertisementsmake it onto as many mobile displays as possible. When Googles bosses announced themerger, they took great care to explain that they would run Motorola as a separate businessand not change the way in which Android was managed.

　　拥有一家手机制造企业可以让Google更好地整合软件和硬件，同时，也不能完全照搬苹果的模式。如果其他设备制造商认为安卓偏向于摩托罗拉的产品，也许就会弃安卓而去。这有违该操作系统的初衷：务必让 Google的服务尽可能多地出现在移动设备上，从而为其带来利润丰厚的广告业务。Google的老板在宣布这次收购时，就极力澄清说摩托罗拉会单独运作，他们不会改变安卓的管理模式。

　　Carolina Milanesi of Gartner, a market-research firm, expects Google to use Motorola to buildbenchmark models for Android devices to help others improve their products. The industry ismoving towards a similar set-up. As part of a co-operation agreement with Nokia, Microsoft isusing the Finnish company as its hardware-maker of reference.

　　市场研究公司Gartner的卡罗琳娜 米拉内西Carolina Milanesi估计，Google会用摩托罗拉打造一个安卓设备的标准模板，以帮助其他制造商改进各自的产品。移动行业正逐步走向标准化，微软已与诺基亚达成合作协议，所有硬件制造商的产品都以这家芬兰公司的硬件为准。

　　Third, it is unlikely that one firm will ever dominatethe mobile industry as much as Microsoft did in PCsbecause the most powerful companies will doalmost anything to keep this from happening, saysBen Wood of CCS Insight, another research firm.Just like Google, they will spend billions to stay in therace. And wireless operators have let it be knownthat they are already unhappy with the currentduopoly of Android and Apple. They will certainlypush Nokias new Windows phones once they hit themarket later this year or early next.

　　第三个不同，用另一家市场研究公司CCS Insight本 伍德Ben Wood的话来说，就是在移动行业中，不大可能有公司像微软在PC市场那样长期独家垄断，因为各大公司会竭力阻止发生这种情况。比如Google就将花费数十亿美元来保持竞争力。而无线运营商已经公开表示，他们对目前安卓和苹果两家争霸的局面感到不满，一旦诺基亚的Windows phones手机在今年或明年年初上市，他们肯定会助其一臂之力。

　　All of which means Googles acquisition is unlikely to be the last deal of its kind. OtherAmerican technology giants have plenty of cashand a need to strengthen their mobilestature, says Mr Wood. Even Amazon, an online shopping giant, may feel the urge to splashout and buy, perhaps, Sony-Ericsson, which like Motorola seems too small to make it on itsown. The battle for supremacy in the mobile industry has only just begun.

　　所有这些，都意味着Google的收购不会是此类收购的最后一桩。伍德先生说，美国还有些腰缠万贯的技术巨头想要提高他们在移动行业的声望。甚至连网购业巨头亚马逊也迫不及待地想进来，它可能会收购索尼爱立信，这家公司与摩托罗拉一样，已经萎缩到无法支撑下去。争夺移动行业霸权的战斗才刚刚开始。