Apple Inc. (AAPL) has yet to announce release dates for the iPad in markets outside the U.S., but consumers are already buying them in China, where the company says it is about to embark on a major expansion.

苹果公司(Apple Inc.)尚未宣布iPad在美国以外市场的发售日期，但消费者已在中国买到了这种产品。苹果公司称即将在中国进行大规模业务扩展。

Retailers who've ordered the touch-screen tablets from the U.S. and began selling them Wednesday say that die-hard Chinese Apple fans have begun to purchase them, even though they are significantly more expensive and do not work on local mobile networks.

此前已从美国订购这种平板触屏产品的零售商周三已开始在中国销售这款产品。零售商称，中国铁杆苹果粉丝已开始购买这种产品，尽管这些产品价格高得多，而且无法接入国内移动网络。

Users in China, who are accustomed to getting Apple products later than other markets, have found ways to access Apple products through China's robust grey market, and use Apple's international iTunes and App store either by using overseas credit cards to start accounts, or by purchasing iTunes gift cards. It was estimated that millions of iPhones were already in use before Apple and China Unicom officially launched the product late last year.

中国用户熟悉苹果产品要晚于其它市场，但经由中国兴旺的灰色市场，中国用户以各种方式接触到苹果产品，并通过使用海外信用卡开设户头或者购买iTunes礼品卡来使用苹果公司面向国际用户的 iTunes及App store。据估计，在苹果公司及中国联通(China Unicom Ltd.)正式于去年底推出iPhone之前，数以百万计的中国用户已在使用这种产品。

One Apple reseller, Lixin Digital in Beijing, said it started selling 16-gigabyte Wi-Fi iPads for 7,300 yuan ($1,069) and 32-gigabyte Wi-Fi iPads for CNY7,700 ($1,127) Wednesday, and two customers already bought them. In comparison, the same versions are sold for $499 and $599 in the U.S., respectively. In the U.S., more expensive iPads that can download over both Wi-Fi and AT&T's mobile network are available, but Apple hasn't announced any partnerships with mobile operators in China. IPads are also being sold on Alibaba Group's consumer-to-consumer retail Web site Taobao.com.

苹果公司的一个经销商--北京力信数码称已于周三开始销售16G的Wi-Fi iPad，售价为7,300元人民币(1,069美元)，32G的Wi-Fi iPad，售价为7,700元人民币(1,127美元)，购买顾客已有两位。相比之下，同款产品在美国的售价分别为499美元及599美元。在美国，可买到价格更高且具有Wi-Fi及美国电话电报公司(AT&T Inc.)所支持的下载功能的iPad，但苹果公司尚未宣布与中国的任何一家移动运营商合作。在阿里巴巴集团（Alibaba Group）旗下的消费者对消费者零售网站淘宝网(Taobao.com)上，也有iPad出售。

An Apple spokeswoman says iPads will ship in additional countries later this year, but that the company hasn't yet announced a date for China. Apple says it sold more than 300,000 iPads as of midnight on April 3, and users downloaded more than 1 million applications from Apple's App Store, and more than 250,000 ebooks from its iBookstore during the first day.

苹果公司发言人称，iPad将在今年晚些时候在其它国家开始销售，但该公司尚未宣布在中国市场开始销售的日期。苹果公司称，截止至4月3日午夜，已出售了30多万台iPad，用户从苹果公司的App Store下载软件超过一百万套，而在发售首日，从其电子书店iBookstore下载的电子书超过25万本。

A spokeswoman from China Unicom (CHU, 0762.HK), Apple's iPhone partner and the only mobile operator in China to operate a third-generation mobile network compatible with the iPad, said 'we do not have relevant information yet. We cooperate on the iPhone, but there is no information about cooperation for the iPad yet.'

中国联通是苹果公司的iPhone合作伙伴，也是中国唯一一家运作可与iPad兼容的3G移动网络运营商。该公司一位发言人称，公司迄今未有相关信息。联通与苹果就iPhone业务进行合作，但尚未有就iPad进行合作的消息。

There is currently only one Apple store in China, and the company otherwise relies on authorized resellers here. But Apple has said it plans to open 25 more stores over the next two years. Such a rollout could significantly increase Apple's presence in China, where it has a negligible share of personal computer sales and has not achieved the same mass-market success with the iPhone as it has in other markets.

目前中国仅有一家苹果商店，苹果公司在中国的业务主要依靠授权零销商。但该公司称计划在今后两年增设25家商店。这种突破性计划方案将大大提高苹果在中国市场的占有率，目前苹果个人电脑在中国市场的销售份额微不足道，而且也未取得iPhone在其它市场上的成功销售。

Still, users may not want to hold their breath; the company has promised additional stores before, including a second store in Beijing that has been planned for at least two years, but thus far has not opened for reasons not explained.

但苹果用户也许不应该屏息以盼。苹果公司之前已承诺增设新店，包括在北京开设中国第二家商店，该计划已至少有两年之久，但迄今仍未实施，原因不明。

Loretta Chao

• release [ri´li:s] vt&n.释放；放松；赦免 (初中词汇)
• wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中词汇)
• expensive [ik´spensiv] a.费钱的，昂贵的 (初中词汇)
• international [,intə´næʃənəl] a.国际的，世界的 (初中词汇)
• comparison [kəm´pærisən] n.比较；对照；比喻 (初中词汇)
• available [ə´veiləbəl] a.可用的；有效的 (初中词汇)
• additional [ə´diʃənəl] a.附加的，额外的 (初中词汇)
• midnight [´midnait] n.午夜；漆黑 (初中词汇)
• partner [´pɑ:tnə] n.伙伴 v.同....合作 (初中词汇)
• operator [´ɔpəreitə] n.操作者；接线员 (初中词汇)
• operate [´ɔpəreit] v.(使)运转；操作；经营 (初中词汇)
• cooperation [kəu,ɔpə´reiʃən] n.合作；协作 (初中词汇)
• otherwise [´ʌðəwaiz] ad.另外 conj.否则 (初中词汇)
• computer [kəm´pju:tə] n.计算机；电子计算器 (初中词汇)
• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中词汇)
• access [´ækses] n.接近；通路；进入 (高中词汇)
• relevant [´relivənt] a.有关的；中肯的 (高中词汇)
• cooperate [kəu´ɔpəreit] vi.合作，协作；配合 (高中词汇)
• embark [im´bɑ:k] v.上船；装载；开始 (四级词汇)
• officially [ə´fiʃəli] ad.以职员身份；正式 (四级词汇)
• respectively [ri´spektivli] ad.各自地；分别地 (四级词汇)
• network [´netwə:k] n.网状物 vt.联播 (四级词汇)
• retail [´ri:teil, ri´teil] n.&a.&v.零售(商品的) (四级词汇)
• robust [rəu´bʌst] a.强建的；茁壮的 (六级词汇)
• overseas [,əuvə´si:z] ad.(向)海外 a.海外的 (六级词汇)