Apple Inc. 's answer to the increasingly cutthroat tablet-computer market: more product choices and free software.
苹果(Apple Inc.)应对竞争日益白热化的平板电脑市场的法宝是：提供更多的产品选择，以及免费的软件。
At an event here Tuesday, Apple showed off a new full-size tablet--now called iPad Air--that is thinner and slimmed down to one pound. It also revealed an updated iPad Mini with a faster processor and a sharper display.
在周二举行的苹果发布会上，该公司发布了一款新的全尺寸平板电脑。新款平板电脑如今更名为iPad Air，比老款更轻薄，重量降至约一磅（约合0.45公斤）。苹果还发布了处理器速度更快、屏幕清晰度更高的新款iPad Mini。
Just as important, Apple's new holiday lineup lowers the entry price for the cheapest iPads to below $300 for the first time. Apple said it will sell a range of tablets starting with last year's iPad Mini for $299, up to the new iPad Air, which starts at $499. That brings Apple closer in line with competitors like Amazon.com Inc., who have pushed tablet prices down as far as $229.
同样重要的是，苹果的新产品阵容将使最便宜的iPad起价首次降至300美元以下。苹果说，它将销售一系列平板电脑，从去年推出的、售价299美元的iPad Mini到起价499美元的新款iPad Air。这将使苹果产品的价位更接近亚马逊(Amazon.com Inc.)等竞争对手。竞争对手已将平板电脑价格压到低至229美元的水平。
Apple also said it would offer for free access to its iWork productivity suite, which competes with Microsoft Corp.'s Office, and iLife photo, movie and music making apps for customers buying new devices. The company used to charge between $4.99 and $9.99 for each program.
苹果还说，它将向购买新设备的顾客免费开放iWork办公室软件套装及iLife照片、电影及音乐制作应用。iWork办公室软件套装与微软(Microsoft Corp.)的Office相互竞争。该公司过去的做法是每个程序收费4.99美元至9.99美元。
Following the announcements, Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook said the changes amounted to 'the biggest iPad announcement ever, by a large margin.'
新产品发布后，苹果首席执行长库克(Tim Cook)说，这些调整可以说是迄今为止iPad做出的最大调整，大大超过了以往。
Improved technical specs, coupled with free software, may help Apple appeal to more customers, particularly students and small businesses, said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. 'You're not paying extra money for the brand, you're getting real technology to back it up,' he said.
咨询公司Moor Insights & Strategy的分析师穆尔黑德(Patrick Moorhead)说，升级的技术配置和免费的软件有望帮助苹果吸引更多的客户，特别是学生和小企业。他说，你不是为了品牌多花钱，你享受到的是实实在在的技术，物有所值。
The new iPads and changing software strategy come at a critical time for the Cupertino, Calif., gadget maker. For the first time, Apple sold fewer iPads in the three months ended in June than the same period a year earlier. Rivals including South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and Amazon are eroding Apple's one-time dominance of the tablet market.
对总部位于加州丘珀蒂诺(Cupertino)的设备生产商苹果来说，新款iPad的推出和软件策略的调整正值一个重要时刻。在截至6月的三个月中，苹果iPad的销量较上年同期首次出现下滑。包括韩国公司三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)和亚马逊在内的竞争对手正在侵蚀苹果曾经在平板电脑市场的主导地位。
Research firm Gartner expects Apple's share of the tablet market to fall below 50% this year, down from 54% last year and 65% in 2011. Tablets powered by Google Inc. 's Android software are expected to hit as much as 50% of the market this year, up from about 45% last year.
研究公司Gartner预计，今年苹果在平板电脑市场的份额将下滑至50%以下，低于去年的54%和2011年的65%。预计搭载谷歌(Google Inc.)安卓(Android)系统的平板电脑今年的市场份额可达50%，而去年约为45%。
Nokia Corp. unveiled its first tablet computer Tuesday. Also Tuesday, Microsoft, which plans to acquire Nokia's mobile-computing business, put the second version of its Surface tablet on sale.
诺基亚(Nokia Corp.)周二发布了首款平板电脑。同样是在周二，微软的第二版Surface平板电脑开售。微软正计划收购诺基亚的移动计算业务。
Google, Sony Corp. and Asian manufacturers including Asustek Computer Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd. are pushing tablets of their own.
谷歌、索尼公司(Sony Corp.)以及包括华硕(Asustek Computer Inc.)和联想集团(Lenovo Group Ltd.)在内的亚洲生产商都在力推自己的平板电脑产品。
Apple's answer this year was to fix complaints about its current lineup, adding in its latest processor, the A7, to the new devices, making the iPad lighter and giving the iPad Mini a sharper screen.
苹果今年的战略是解决针对当前产品阵容的一些抱怨，比如在新设备上使用了最新的A7处理器，以及让iPad变得更轻、为iPad Mini配备更高分辨率的屏幕。
The iPad Air goes on sale in the U.S. and a host of other countries, including China, on Nov. 1. The new iPad Mini will go on sale later in November, the company said.
iPad Air将于11月1日在美国和包括中国在内的其他一些国家开卖。苹果说，新款iPad Mini将在11月晚些时候开售。
'I can't think of another product that's come so far, so fast,' Mr. Cook said during the event, noting that Apple has sold more than 170 million iPads.
库克在发布会上说，我想不出还有哪种产品能如此快速地做到如此程度。他指出，苹果已经卖出了逾1.7亿部iPad。
One bright spot for the company is that even as it loses market share, its customers remain the heaviest users of tablets.
对该公司而言，一个好消息是，即便它失去了一些市场份额，其客户仍然是最“重度”的平板电脑使用者。
Mobile-advertising firm Chitika Inc. says 84.3% of the website traffic from tablets that it analyzed in June came from iPads. Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet ranked second, with 5.7% of Web traffic, followed by Samsung's Galaxy tablets, with 4.2%. Usage of the iPad increased from May to June, Chitika said, while the others declined.
移动广告公司Chitika Inc.说，该公司6月份分析的数据表明，平板电脑上84.3%的网络流量来自iPad。亚马逊的Kindle Fire平板电脑排名第二，占比5.7%，之后是三星的Galaxy平板电脑，占比4.2%。Chitika说，从5月到6月间，iPad的使用情况有所增长，而其他平板电脑则出现下降。
'Regardless of what you might hear or read about how many are sold or activated, iPad is used more than any of the rest,' Mr. Cook said, adding that the iPad is used four times more than competitors.
库克说，不管你听到、读到任何有关卖了多少、激活了多少的信息，iPad的使用情况比任何其他品牌都高。他还补充说，iPad的使用情况是竞争对手的四倍还多。
Among other announcements, Apple said a new version of its computer operating system, OS X Mavericks, along with updates to 20 more of its apps, would be available for existing customers to download free immediately. In the past, Apple has typically charged for major software updates, particularly for its OS X operating system.
苹果宣布的其他消息包括，新版的电脑操作系统OS X Mavericks以及对该系统应用的20个升级将很快就能供现有顾客免费下载。过去，苹果通常会对重大升级收费，特别是OS X操作系统。
With the free software approach, 'we are turning the industry on its ear,' Mr. Cook said.
库克说，这个免费软件的策略将令整个行业气象一新。
Apple also unveiled a slate of new computers. Its latest MacBook Pro laptop computers will start at a price of $1,299, about $200 less than past models, while its high-end Mac Pro desktop computer will start at $2,999.
苹果还推出了一系列新的电脑。最新型的MacBook Pro笔记本电脑的起价是1,299美元，比以往的型号低了大约200美元。而高端的Mac Pro台式电脑的起价为2,999美元。