蘋果的中國地圖比其他國家更詳細大綱

Apple's efforts to create its own mapping software has led to a different set of maps for its new mobile operating system built specifically for China.

蘋果公司(Apple)在自主開發地圖軟件的過程中，專門針對中國打造了一套用於新版手機操作系統的地圖。

When the Silicon Valley company released its iOS 6 mobile operating system last week, customers who upgraded their devices began to complain that one of the marquee technologies a new maps app to replace Google's GOOG -0.03% maps service had misplaced or missing labels for businesses, landmarks and roads.

在這家硅谷公司上週發佈iOS 6移動操作系統後，更新了操作系統的用戶開始抱怨說，新系統的主打技術之一──取代谷歌(Google)地圖服務的新地圖應用－－存在誤標或漏標商戶、地標和道路的情況。

Customers in China, however, found more detailed maps covering their country than those overseas, in part because their data is provided by AutoNavi Holdings, a Chinese mapping company that makes auto navigation systems as well as virtual maps and satellite images. AutoNavi is also the most widely used mobile mapping service in China, with 45% market share, according to Analysys International.

但中國的用戶卻發現國內地圖比國外地圖更加詳細。部分原因在於，他們的數據是由製作汽車導航系統、虛擬地圖和衛星影像的中國地圖公司高德軟件有限公司(AutoNavi Holdings)提供的。高德也是中國使用最廣的移動地圖服務，據易觀國際(Analysys International)的數據顯示，它佔有45%的市場份額。

But in a sign of the continued isolation of China's Internet from the rest of the world, Apple hasn't integrated AutoNavi with information from Dutch navigation system maker TomTom, which helps to power Apple's mapping service in other parts of the world.

但蘋果並沒有把高德的數據和荷蘭導航系統製作商TomTom提供的信息整合到一起。TomTom爲世界其他地區的蘋果地圖服務提供支持。這也顯示中國的互聯網仍就沒有同世界其他地區融合在一起。

When customers in China attempt to look at other countries in street-detail mode, the maps outside China lack features such as landmarks and public transit stops. The Chinese maps also don't include functions available on Apple's international mapping software such as spoken driving directions or the 3-D flyover technology that Apple has developed for several cities. The Chinese maps do provide written driving directions to get from one place to another.

中國用戶想以放大到街道的模式查看其他國家的地圖時，會發現那些地圖缺少地標和公交車站等內容。另外，中國地圖不包含蘋果國際地圖軟件上的一些功能，比如語音駕車指引，以及蘋果爲多座城市開發的3D俯瞰技術。中國地圖倒也提供從一個地方到另一個地方的文字駕車指引。

If customers in China turn on the satellite image feature or layer road and place names on top of the satellite image, they can only see China, while the rest of the world is left black.

中國用戶要是打開衛星影像功能或將道路、地名疊加在衛星影像之上，那麼他們就只能看到中國，世界其他地方全是黑的。

Integrating the two would take time due to a number of complexities, which include integrating map search databases and coding, a person familiar with the matter said.

一位知情人士說，把兩者統一起來將需要時間，因爲其中涉及到一些複雜情況，比如地圖搜索數據庫和編碼的整合。

Due to sensitivities over government and military installations, only 11 companies in China have licenses to do comprehensive mapping, and half of those simply exist to support the government.

由於政府和軍事設施的敏感性，中國只有11家公司擁有全面測繪地圖的牌照，其中一半隻爲支持政府工作而存在。

The separated technologies Apple has built for the Chinese markets underscore the challenges it faces building its own maps technology rather than relying on Google's offerings. Mapping experts say creating a comprehensive set of digital maps requires a lot of time and integration of data from many sources to ensure they're all accurate, something Google has been doing since 2005.

蘋果專門針對中國市場開發技術，凸顯出它開發自有地圖、擺脫對谷歌地圖的依賴所面臨的挑戰。地圖專家說，製作一套全面的電子地圖需要耗費很多時間，還需要整合來自多種渠道的數據，以確保數據全部準確。谷歌從2005年以來就一直在做這件事。

Apple still has refinements to make both globally and in China. Searches for businesses and landmarks in China often turn up incorrect results.

蘋果不管是在全世界還是在中國都還需要改進。在中國搜索商戶和地標也會經常出錯。

Ultimately the maps will likely prove popular with Chinese customers, however. AutoNavi already provides data for Baidu's widely used mapping services, and the Chinese mapping company has spent years accumulating databases of businesses, location names and roads. Google also integrates AutoNavi into its own mapping service.

但最終，蘋果地圖可能還是會受到中國用戶的歡迎。高德已經在爲百度(Baidu)用戶衆多的地圖服務提供數據，並花了很多年的時間積累商戶、地名和道路數據庫。谷歌也將高德整合到了自己的地圖服務中。

Although Apple's iPhone sales in China doubled in the third quarter, the growth slowed from more than fivefold in the preceding one. Apple is facing increasingly fierce competition in China from rivals such as Samsung Electronics and HTC, which are unveiling pricey devices with big screens and fast processors, and local players such as Huawei Technologies and ZTE, which are offering less expensive phones with competitive specs.

雖然第三財季蘋果在中國的iPhone銷量實現翻番，但相比前一個季度四倍以上的增速還是慢了下來。蘋果在中國市場面臨着激烈的競爭，三星電子(Samsung Electronics)和宏達國際(HTC)不斷推出大屏幕、處理速度快的高端手機，而華爲(Huawei Technologies)和中興(ZTE)等本土廠商也在出售規格有競爭力、價格更便宜的手機。

To gain an advantage, Apple likely chose AutoNavi because it provides the best overall data and system out there compared with its Chinese competitors, according to Jake Lynch, an analyst at Macquarie Group in Shanghai.

麥格理集團(Macquarie Group)駐上海分析師林奇(Jake Lynch)說，蘋果之所以選擇高德，可能是因爲和其他中國的競爭對手相比，高德提供的數據和系統整體而言是目前最好的。

Mr. Lynch said AutoNavi invests twice as much capital in its products when compared to its nearest Chinese competitor, NavInfo, which holds 43.2% market share. 'AutoNavi's overall experience and accuracy is the best of the competitors,' he said.

林奇說，高德對產品的投入比僅次於它的中國競爭對手、市場份額爲43.2%的四維圖新(NavInfo)多出一倍。他說，高德的整體體驗和準確度是競爭對手當中最好的。