????最近，蘋果（Apple）與三星（Samsung）展開的“巨頭較量”倍受關(guān)注。而且，人們普遍認為這背后其實是蘋果與谷歌（Google）的交鋒。而上周四上午，在加州圣塔莫尼卡市一個巨大的飛機庫內(nèi)，亞馬遜（Amazon）召開了新Kindle系列發(fā)布會，杰夫?貝佐斯對產(chǎn)品的演示清晰、嚴謹，顯然經(jīng)過精心設(shè)計。他的演示向以消費者為主的聽眾們傳達了一個信息，即亞馬遜與蘋果的對決同樣精彩絕倫，驚心動魄。實際上，貝佐斯在臺上的71分鐘里只有一次提到了蘋果公司，還是引用了一則對比兩家公司產(chǎn)品的評論。但寥寥數(shù)語卻讓聽眾們明白了競爭日益激烈的兩家公司之間存在的區(qū)別。

????貝佐斯稱，亞馬遜的重心并不是設(shè)備，矛頭明顯直指蘋果，因為蘋果公司正是以設(shè)備為發(fā)展重心。亞馬遜關(guān)注的是服務(wù)。實際上，貝佐斯對于新款Kindle家族產(chǎn)品的描述最令人印象深刻的地方并不是它們的技術(shù)參數(shù)（當然，它們確實非常時髦），而是亞馬遜隨之推出的巧妙、甚至有些可愛的服務(wù)。比如：

????* Free Time功能，允許家長設(shè)置孩子使用Kindle產(chǎn)品的時間。（該功能包括與蘋果應(yīng)用‘Kayak’類似的表盤，家長可以調(diào)整許可，比如在不限制孩子閱讀時間的前提下，可以將玩游戲或者看電影的時間精確限制在30分鐘以內(nèi)。為了不再為屏幕時間與女兒進行無休止的‘談判’，我肯定會買一臺。而且，我真心希望蘋果公司能夠通過合法手段，在iPhone和iPad上也增加這項功能。）

????* 浸入式閱讀將電子書與有聲圖書相匹配，有聲圖書讀到的文字將會高亮顯示。很明顯，這一功能對外語學習者和新讀者具有強大的吸引力。

????* X-ray技術(shù)是指亞馬遜用戶在閱讀和觀看時，無需關(guān)閉閱讀器或視頻播放器應(yīng)用，便可調(diào)出有用的幫助信息。這是我最喜歡的功能。它再次證明，平板設(shè)備如何提供優(yōu)于實體書或?qū)捚岭娨暤挠脩趔w驗，也體現(xiàn)了亞馬遜的與眾不同之處。使用iPad時，我也可以退出電子書應(yīng)用去搜索網(wǎng)頁；而亞馬遜則為我提供了一種無需離開閱讀界面的全新搜索方式。

????* “Time to read”功能是亞馬遜推出的一種新功能，位于電子書的頁面底部。該功能將根據(jù)讀者的閱讀習慣，估算出讀完一章或整本書所需要的時間。貝佐斯稱，有消費者抱怨，在讀實體書時，讀者通過書簽可以知道還剩多少尚未閱讀的內(nèi)容，而電子書卻無法復(fù)制這種體驗。這讓我想起貝佐斯曾對我說過的話。他希望能夠在電子書中再現(xiàn)圖書的味道，所以說，他非常重視讀者與實體書之間的情感聯(lián)系。

????亞馬遜已經(jīng)在多個方面證明，它最有可能在平板市場挑戰(zhàn)蘋果公司。（貝佐斯稱，去年，Kindle Fire平板占美國平板電腦市場的22%，也是Amazon.com上的暢銷產(chǎn)品，但他并未透露具體數(shù)據(jù)。）亞馬遜成功的秘訣在于充分發(fā)揮自己的優(yōu)勢。蘋果是一家合法的圖書出版商，這進一步增強了它在電子書閱讀器領(lǐng)域的優(yōu)勢。（亞馬遜計劃重新推出連載圖書的概念，通過一款很酷的產(chǎn)品，用戶可以分期購買圖書，售價僅為1.99美元，圖書將以連載形式提供給讀者。對于筆者個人來說，這個創(chuàng)意讓我很激動。）而亞馬遜最新推出的Kindle Papaerwhite采用先進的照明與顯示技術(shù)，則使亞馬遜在早已深受消費者喜愛的電子書閱讀器領(lǐng)域更進一步，繼續(xù)領(lǐng)先蘋果。

????此外，亞馬遜在價格上也與蘋果形成了鮮明對比。新款Kindle Fire HD最高售價為499美元，包括第一年無線服務(wù)費用在內(nèi)，總價為548美元。而iPad的成本則為959美元。畢竟亞馬遜一直講究薄利多銷，所以這也是情理之中的事。此外，亞馬遜還將最早版本的Kindle降至69美元，這也是亞馬遜與蘋果的不同之處。蘋果經(jīng)常采取逐步淘汰舊型號的措施。貝佐斯稱：“使用亞馬遜的產(chǎn)品，用戶沒有必要一直進行無聊的更新?！?/p>

????The business-focused battle-of-the-titans storyline of late has been 'Apple versus Samsung,' widely understood as a proxy for 'Apple versus Google.' If Jeff Bezos accomplished one thing in his clear, solid, and meticulously articulated Kindle presentation in Santa Monica, Calif., Thursday morning, it was to make the case to a consumer-focused audience that 'Amazon versus Apple' is as compelling a narrative. In fact, while mentioning Apple only once in his 71 minutes onstage at a vast airplane hangar—quoting from a product review that compared the two companies' offerings—Bezos made it simple to understand the difference between the two increasingly competitive companies.

????Amazon (AMZN) is not about gadgets, said Bezos, in a clear swipe at Apple (AAPL), which most definitely is about gadgets. Amazon is about services. Indeed, what is most impressive about the bevy of new-and-improved Kindles Bezos demonstrated isn't their technical specifications. (They are snazzy. Enough said.) It's the clever—even cute—services Amazon introduced with them. Some examples:

????* FreeTime allows parents to set time limits on their children's usage of their Kindles. (The feature includes 'Kayak'-like dials so a parent can tweak permission, say, to include unlimited book reading but precisely 30 minutes more of game playing or movie watching. I will buy one simply to end the ceaseless negotiations over screen time with my daughter. What's more, I sincerely hope Apple finds a legal way to copy this feature on the iPhone and iPad.)

????* Immersion Reading marries ebooks with audio books so that a reader sees highlighted words as they are being read by the narrator. The powerful ramifications for foreign-language learners and new readers are obvious.

????* X-ray is Amazon's buzzword for helpful information a reader or watcher can call up without leaving their reader or video player application. This is a feature I've wanted forever. It's a good example of how the tablet experience can be better than the physical book or wide-screen TV experience. It's also a good example of Amazon's differentiation. I can leave my e-reader application on iPad and search the web; Amazon is offering me a way to not leave.

????* "Time to read" is a new feature Amazon will include at the bottom of the page in an ebook. It estimates how long it will take the reader to finish a chapter or the entire book, based on their reading habits. Bezos said customers complain that with a physical book they can see from their bookmark how much of the book they have left, a feeling they couldn't replicate in an ebook. It reminds me of the time Bezos told me he wanted to figure out how to re-create the smell of a book, so mindful is he of the emotional bonds we have with books with bindings.

????In so many ways Amazon has established itself as a credible alternative to Apple in the tablet market. (Bezos said the Kindle Fire had 22% of the U.S. tablet market last year and that it is the top-selling product on Amazon.com, but he didn't break out any numbers.) The way Amazon got there was by playing to its strengths. Apple is a legitimate book publisher, strengthening its e-reader hand. (I am personally excited Amazon intends to try to bring back the concept of serialized books with a cool product that offers customers all installments, delivered serially, for $1.99.) Amazon's new Kindle Paperwhite, with advanced lighting and display technology, seems like a step ahead of Apple, again, in the areas consumers already love about Amazon.

????Amazon also makes for a stark contrast with Apple in terms of price. The new Kindle Fire HD tops out at $499, and including wireless service costs $548 in the first year. A comparable iPad costs $959. This makes sense as Amazon always is about the lowest price. By dropping the price of its oldest Kindle to $69, Amazon also differentiates itself from Apple, which more often phases out its oldest models. Said Bezos: "You don't need to be on the upgrade treadmill with Amazon."

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