蘋果瞄準汽車廠商

????蘋果公司（Apple）的iPhone能否幫助汽車制造商提升汽車銷量？而汽車又能否幫助蘋果賣出更多的電子設備？

????或許兩者都有可能，而雙方能借此實現共贏。蘋果最近表示，正在同多家汽車制造商合作，以將全新的iOS 7操作系統整合到后者的汽車中，合作廠商包括通用汽車（General Motors）、梅賽德斯-奔馳（Mercedes-Benz）、日產（Nissan）以及現代（Hyundai）。順理成章的，這款產品被命名為“車載版iOS”。汽車電腦的屏幕可能看起來與iPhone一樣，用戶可以使用Siri語音命令來控制導航、娛樂選項、電話以及暖氣和空調等功能。

????用戶最喜愛的應用程序可從手機投映到屏幕上。加上3G或4G網絡連接，駕駛者或乘客可通過該格式購買和下載音樂，或許還能通過亞馬遜（Amazon）訂購商品。位于美國田納西州納什維爾的日產汽車發言人大衛?羅伊特承認：“我們一直在與蘋果就iOS 7進行合作?！彼€表示，語音助理應用Siri將被用于日產和英菲尼迪的部分車型。

????數碼功能已成為人們選購汽車時一項更重要的考慮因素，對有些用戶來說，甚至是一項決定性的因素。目前尚不清楚的是，更廣泛的數字和無線性能是會對駕駛者帶來更多干擾，還是相反會提升安全性。（Siri為用戶朗讀其短信和郵件，使駕駛者的視線不用離開路面。）

????如果有汽車能帶來如蘋果般的數碼功能與用戶體驗，那么毫無疑問，iPhone的狂熱粉絲會被牢牢吸引住。蘋果設備的出貨量如今已超過6億，這對于汽車廠商而言是個無法忽視的天文數字?！敖y一接口的優勢不言而喻，” 一位汽車業高管說?！叭藗冎恍枰私庖环N能同時適應汽車和智能手機的格式，而不是兩種?！辈贿^，由于競爭關系，這位高管并不愿透露姓名。

????很早以前，汽車工業就認識到了如今被稱為“互聯汽車”技術的巨大潛力。汽車不是孤立的個體，而是融入數字社會的一個節點。不過，憑借著豐富的功能和便捷的操作，智能手機如今大有取代汽車行車電腦之勢。

????通用汽車是互聯汽車的先鋒，它的安吉星系統通過衛星網絡將通用品牌汽車聯入網絡。安吉星服務向用戶收取月租，目前已積累了不少用戶，成績可喜。不過，它離通用希望創立行業標準的目標還相距甚遠。福特（Ford）和寶馬（BMW）等公司的娛樂信息系統則舉步維艱。它們功能落后，很難使用，許多用戶紛紛抱怨，最終反而影響了用戶對福特和寶馬品牌的評價。

????目前還有不少汽車廠商沒有同蘋果合作，福特就是其中的一家。它選擇與微軟（Microsoft）合作開發娛樂信息系統。不過，如果蘋果被證實能提升某款車型的銷量和定價，尤其是受年輕人青睞的車型，那么福特未來很可能也會考慮提供iPhone格式的信息系統。

????不過，汽車廠商必須小心謹慎，因為消費者們都是出奇地變化無常，他們很可能突然對某種新的數碼標準如癡如醉，就像當年的iPhone一樣。而且，谷歌（Google）Android設備目前在銷量上也已經壓過蘋果。

????新一代的消費者十分關心行車電腦的存儲空間和處理速度，而對汽車的馬力和扭矩則不那么在意。汽車廠商們明白這一點，而這也是蘋果為什么將在汽車行業扮演更重要角色的原因所在。（財富中文網）

????Can the iPhone help automakers sell cars? Or will cars help Apple sell more gadgets?

????Perhaps both. Apple (AAPL) recently said it is working with a number of automakers, including General Motors (GM), Mercedes-Benz, Nissan (NSANY) and Hyundai to integrate its new iOS 7operating system into cars. The product is called, not shockingly, "iOS in the Car." The car's screen might look like an iPhone's, allowing Siri voice commands control navigation, entertainment choices, phone and functions such as heating and air conditioning.

????Favorite apps might be projected from the phone to the screen. Combined with a 3G or 4G connection, the format could allow driver or passenger to buy and download music–or, perhaps, order merchandise via Amazon (AMZN). "We have been working with Apple on iOS 7," acknowledged David Reuter, a spokesman for Nissan Motor in Nashville, Tennessee. He also said that Siri will be used in some Nissan and Infiniti models.

????Digital features have become a more important consideration–crucial for some–when choosing a car to buy. What's unclear is whether broader digital and wireless capability in cars will add to driver distraction or, conversely, increase safety by letting drivers keep their eyes on the road while letting Siri read them texts and email.

????In any event, it's a sure thing that iPhone's most avid fans will be attracted to car models that emulate Apple's digital feel and experience. With some 600 million Apple devices in customer hands, automakers have a huge audience with which to connect. "The advantage of a common interface is self-evident," said one auto executive, who asked not to be identified because of industry competition. "You only have to learn one format for your car and smartphone, rather than two."

????The auto industry has long realized the potential benefits of what it now refers to as "the connected car"–that is, the car as a node in the digital world. But smartphones have largely transcended the screens on car dashboards, because they do more and are easier to use.

????GM, which pioneered connection of its cars to the communication grid via OnStar, has achieved modest success with monthly subscriptions to the satellite service, though nothing near the industry standard it hoped to establish. Others like Ford (F) and BMW have struggled with infotainment systems that were buggy or hard to use, frustrating and alienating some car owners and seeing their overall quality ratings decline as a result.

????Ford, which collaborates with Microsoft (MSFT) on its infotainment systems, is one of the carmakers that so far hasn't been mentioned in the same breath as Apple. But if Apple proves helpful in the sales or pricing of a particular car model, especially one favored by younger buyers, Ford would likely consider how it might also offer the iPhone format.

????But carmakers will exercise caution, since consumers are notoriously fickle and could embrace a new and different digital standard as enthusiastically as they embraced the iPhone. Sales of Android devices using Google's (GOOG) operating system are greater than Apple's.

????A new generation cares much more about megabytes of storage and clock speeds than horsepower or torque. The automakers get this, which is why Apple will be playing a bigger role in cars.