三星曲面屏智能手機在韓國打折促銷
Samsung Electronics Co. is getting help from South Korea's largest carrier to drum up sales of the Galaxy Round, the company's curved-screen smartphone, amid reports of weak demand.
三星電子(Samsung Electronics Co.)正藉助韓國最大電信運營商的幫助來擴大麴面屏智能手機Galaxy Round的銷量；有報道稱，該手機需求疲軟。Samsung and SK Telecom Co. on Tuesday declined to comment on the Galaxy Round's sales since its launch in October. Samsung has so far been low-key in its efforts to sell the phone and hasn't disclosed plans to sell it overseas. In contrast, a rival model from LG Electronics Inc., called G Flex, is available for pre-orders in Singapore and will go on sale in Hong Kong later this week.
三星電子和SK Telecom Co.週二對於Galaxy Round自10月份面世以來的銷售情況不予置評。這款手機上市以來，三星電子的推銷努力一直都很低調，也未披露海外銷售計劃。與此形成對比的是，LG Electronics Inc.推出的競爭機型G Flex已經開始在新加坡接受預定，並且將於本週晚些時候開始在香港發售。SK Telecom, the only carrier selling the Galaxy Round in Korea, is offering a discount of approximately 100,000 won ($95) to 150,000 won ($142) to anyone buying the phone together with Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch, a company spokeswoman said. The Round comes with a price tag of 1,089,000 won and the Gear sells for 396,000 won without a contract.
SK Telecom發言人表示，作爲韓國獨家銷售Galaxy Round的電信運營商，該公司爲同時購買Galaxy Round和三星的Galaxy Gear智能手錶的消費者提供大約10萬韓圓(合95美元)至15萬韓圓（合142美元）的折扣。Galaxy Round的裸機售價爲1,089,000韓圓，Gear爲396,000韓圓。
SK Telecom is also offering the same discount for those willing to buy the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone with the Galaxy Gear. Compared with the Round, the 5.7-inch-screen Note 3 appears to have been faring well: Samsung said Tuesday it has shipped over 10 million units since its launch in September. The previous model, the Note II, took four months to reach the same shipment figure, Samsung said.
SK Telecom也爲那些希望同時購買Galaxy Note 3智能手機和Galaxy Gear的消費者提供相同的折扣。與Round相比，憑藉着5.7寸的大屏幕，Note 3的銷售情況似乎更好些：三星電子週二表示，該手機9月份上市以來已經銷售了1,000萬部。三星電子還表示，Note II花費了4個月時間才達到這一銷量。Samsung has been aggressively marketing the Galaxy Gear, featuring the smartwatch in music videos, and even having it worn by soccer stars.
三星電子一直在賣力推銷Galaxy Gear，不僅爲其製作了音樂視頻廣告，甚至還找來足球明星代言。But curved-screen smartphones are proving to be a harder sell. With the jury still out on these new phones, Samsung and LG are expected to expand their rivalry to another category, this time in foldable-screen smartphones.
但是事實證明曲面屏智能手機的銷售並不順暢。鑑於這些新手機的情況仍不明朗，三星電子和LG之間預計將把競爭範圍擴大到另一種機型，這一次將是可摺疊屏幕智能手機。Research firm IHS forecast earlier this year that demand for flexible displays will show massive growth during the next seven years, driving a nearly 250 times expansion in shipments from 2013 through 2020. It expects global shipments of flexible displays to jump to 792 million units in 2020, up from 3.2 million in 2013, with market revenue rising to $41.3 billion, from just $100,000.
研究公司IHS今年早些時候預計，未來7年，對柔性屏幕智能手機的需求將大幅增加，2013-2020年這類手機的發貨量將增加近250倍。該研究公司預計，柔性屏幕智能手機2020年的全球發貨量將由2013年的320萬部擴大至7.92億部，市場收入將由僅10萬美元增加至413億美元。
