Few consumers had even heard of Huawei in 2011, the year in which its board decided to focus on breaking into the smartphone market in a big way.
2011年那会儿，还没有多少消费者听说过华为(Huawei)，就在这一年，华为董事会决定集中精力，大举进军智能手机市场。The company’s portfolio of cheap, low-tech devices had led many to mark the group down as just another “me-too” Chinese white-label manufacturer. But six years on, Huawei has achieved its ambition. As well as now being one of the world’s leading suppliers of telecoms equipment, ranking alongside Sweden’s Ericsson, it has also become the third-biggest vendor of smartphones by market share, according to research company Gartner.
华为推出了一系列低价、低技术含量的手机产品，让许多人以为该集团不过是又一家跟风的中国“白标”制造商。但6年过去，华为实现了自己的雄心壮志。根据研究公司Gartner的数据，华为现在不仅是全球领先的电信设备供应商，与瑞典爱立信(Ericsson)齐名，还成为按市场份额计全球第三大的智能手机供应商。
The Chinese company has aspirations to be number one as it moves to make more expensive devices aimed at western markets. In 2011, it shipped 1m handsets. Last year, this figure rose to more than 139m.
这家中国企业渴望成为第一，它已在针对西方市场制造价位更高的设备。2011年华为手机发货量为100万部，去年这一数字超过了1.39亿。
“Smartphones are becoming some kind of commodity [at the middle and lower end] but technology is evolving,” says Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei’s consumer business since 2011.
华为消费者业务首席执行官余承东(Richard Yu)表示：“智能手机正成为某类商品（就中低档来说），但技术还在发展。”他自2011年起开始担任这一职务。The P9, launched last year, was Huawei’s first premium handset to break the sales mark of 10m units. The smartphone, which includes an advanced camera developed in partnership with Leica, was launched with the price of ￡480 for the most basic model.
去年推出的P9是华为首款突破1000万部销量的高端手机。这款智能手机配备了与徕卡(Leica)合作开发的高级摄像头，发售时基本款定价为480英镑。However, Mr Yu says that smartphone sales are not the limit of Huawei’s ambitions, as the company looks to move into artificial intelligence and the realm of everyday connected devices, known as the internet of things.
但余承东表示，华为所追求的并不限于卖智能手机，该公司还希望进军人工智能和日常连接设备——即物联网——领域。While smartphones will stay a core part of the business, Huawei is investing more in services that the phones can deliver as a means to drive future sales.
华为仍将把智能手机作为一块核心业务，但目前已在加大投资研发能够在手机上提供的服务，以此作为推动未来销售增长的手段。The goal is to create new uses for smartphones, for instance by building applications around virtual and augmented reality — either with the addition of goggles that immerse the user in a virtual world, or by imposing virtual dressing on real-world views.
其目标是开创智能手机的新用途，例如开发虚拟现实、增强现实应用——或是通过眼镜使用户沉浸在虚拟世界，或是将虚拟服装覆盖在真实世界影像上。Mr Yu says Huawei is investing in VR, which he predicts will become integrated within smartphones.
余承东说华为正在投资虚拟现实，他预测该技术将被整合到智能手机上。Even more important, he says, will be artificial intelligence linked to smartphones.
他说，更重要的是将人工智能与智能手机联系起来。Huawei has plans to rival the big western technology groups such as Apple and Amazon in creating voice-controlled search and response assistants. Mr Yu says that Huawei is investing “huge money” in research and development in this field. Future virtual assistants will adapt themselves to a user’s preferences, their actions and reactions based on data received from smartphones that are packed full of sensors.
华为已有开发语音控制搜索及应答助理的计划，希望与苹果(Apple)、亚马逊(Amazon)等西方科技巨头一较高下。余承东表示华为在该领域的研发上投入了“巨资”。未来的虚拟助理将能够调整自身去适应用户的偏好，它们的动作和反应基于装有传感器的智能手机所接收的数据。Customers will no longer touch a screen to access services, they will just talk to their device. “There will be a smart and natural interaction with human beings,” Mr Yu says. “Huawei is working more and more on AI and VR. The smartphone becomes my personal assistant.
届时用户将不再需要以触屏方式来使用各项服务，他们只需与自己的设备交谈。余承东说：“设备与人之间将进行聪明、自然的互动。华为越来越多地致力于人工智能和虚拟现实。智能手机已经成了我的个人助理。”“Behind the smartphone are big data and AI processing,” he adds. “The phone in the future is like a robot.”
他说：“智能手机的背后是大数据和人工智能处理。未来的手机就像一个机器人。”One reason for this strategic shift is that its phone sales are being challenged by low-cost rivals in Shenzhen, where Huawei has its headquarters. Some analysts also warn that the smartphone market is becoming saturated.
这一战略性转变的原因之一是，华为在手机销售方面日益受到深圳低成本竞争对手的挑战，深圳是华为总部所在地。一些分析师还警告说智能手机市场正日趋饱和。For now, however, Huawei is the top-selling smartphone maker in China, according to research company Counterpoint. Overseas shipments account for nearly 50 per cent of its total handset sales.
不过根据研究公司Counterpoint的数据，目前华为是中国销量第一的智能手机制造商，海外发货量占其手机总销量的近一半。Mr Yu adds that there are still ways to boost sales by improving the design of smartphones, not least by upgrading their digital cameras further.
余承东表示，还是有办法来扩大手机销售，比如通过改进智能手机的设计，尤其是进一步升级手机的数码摄像头。He says that work is also being done to improve battery life, a frequent demand of device users across many brands.
他表示华为也在致力于延长电池寿命，这是许多品牌设备用户的常见要求。Huawei has experimented with wearables. Its Huawei Watch 2, which uses the Android operating system, has online connectivity and acts as a fitness monitor, was launched at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.
华为已试水可穿戴设备领域，华为Watch 2搭载安卓(Android)操作系统，可以连网，还能当做健身监测器，该设备于本周在巴塞罗马世界移动通信大会(Mobile World Congress)上发布。The company still faces some hurdles on its way to the top sales spot, however. Its name is still not as well known as those at the pricier end of the market. Mr Yu also says the company needs more time to build penetration in the US, where it is “behind” compared to other parts of the world.
不过，在迈向全球销售榜首的道路上，华为依然面临一些障碍。它仍不如市场上那些高端品牌知名。余承东还表示华为需要更多时间扩大在美国的渗透，与全球其他地区的情况相比，华为在该市场“落在后面”。