????而楊元慶就算對蘋果有所顧慮，他也不會表現(xiàn)出來。這位中國電腦和手機制造商聯(lián)想公司（Lenovo）的首席執(zhí)行官認為蘋果，包括一般西方公司，都不懂得如何對中國首次購買電子產(chǎn)品的消費者開展營銷：比如為自己的小家購買臺式機的新婚夫妻，或是找到新工作后攢錢買手機的年輕店員。楊在紐約接受《財富》雜志的專訪時表示：“就算我告訴他們怎么做，他們也做不來。”

????楊元慶這么自賣自夸還有其他充分的理由。在中國市場上，聯(lián)想智能手機的銷量比蘋果大，傳統(tǒng)電腦上聯(lián)想的銷售也讓其美國對手們甘拜下風。而中國其他本土企業(yè)的競爭也日益白熱化。在智能手機上，位于深圳的中興公司（ZTE）是蘋果的死對頭。華為（Huawei）這家在國際上更多被視為網(wǎng)絡(luò)設(shè)備制造商的公司則在中國智能手機廠商中排名第5，市場份額為9%。

????分析師將這些競爭者近期銷售增長的原因歸結(jié)為蘋果用戶正在坐等iPhone 5上市，今年年底它將登陸中國市場。但對這些中國本土企業(yè)也不可小視。他們資本充足，雄心勃勃，都在模仿三星的全系列戰(zhàn)略：低端、中端和高端手機全面出擊。以中興的一款手機為例，它僅售799元，即125美元，不含補貼。盡管這些廠商肯定不如蘋果那么酷，但它們的品牌在中國也廣受認可、備受尊敬。他們并不會針對本土市場而刻意改造自己的產(chǎn)品：他們就是在為中國用戶度身定制。因此華為的Ascend P1手機才會擁有一塊炫麗的屏幕。對此一位在上海的評論者稱，這塊屏幕讓手機游戲（這是眾多中國智能手機用戶的新嗜好）的色彩“非常奪目”。中國的三大電子制造巨頭也在積極進軍平板電腦市場，目前蘋果是這一領(lǐng)域的市場份額領(lǐng)袖。iPad 2在中國的銷售只能說差強人意，而且和iPhone一樣，它也是一個尺寸包打天下的產(chǎn)品。而聯(lián)想、中興和華為則提供各種尺寸的類平板電腦設(shè)備，從便宜的、外觀像大號手機的款式到聯(lián)想全新的“瑜伽”系列無所不包。后者將觸摸屏和全鍵盤合二為一。

????所有這些情況使得中國市場上有關(guān)iPad mini的傳言顯得尤其有意思。幾份報告揣測，這個新產(chǎn)品擁有7英寸的屏幕，在美國的零售價約為300美元。這款低價平板電腦是大群中國消費者期盼已久的入門級產(chǎn)品：讓他們無須花上半年的工資就能嘗嘗鮮。它甚至可能意味著蘋果有意開發(fā)iPhone和個人電腦的入門級產(chǎn)品（這也不是沒有先例：還記得iPod Shuffle嗎？）

????就算蘋果還沒決定進入低端市場，它在中國依然有很多途徑可以刺激增長。蘋果還沒有與中國移動合作推出適合中移動網(wǎng)絡(luò)的iPhone。多年來，這兩家公司一直在談判；每年都有傳言說這兩家公司的合作就近在眼前了?，F(xiàn)在最新傳言又說，兩家將在iPhone 5上開始合作。而中移動的知情人士只會說，兩家公司還會繼續(xù)磋商，但還不會達成最后合作。但正像在美國有新運營商開始供應(yīng)iPhone就會擴大蘋果的市場覆蓋面一樣，中移動與蘋果的合作也會對蘋果在中國市場的地位產(chǎn)生巨大影響。畢竟這家公司在中國的市場份額高達66%。

????If Yang Yanqing is worried about Apple, he doesn't show it. The CEO of Chinese computer and phonemaker Lenovo thinks Apple -- and Western companies in general -- don't know how to market to China's first-time electronics buyers: the newlyweds buying a desktop for their home together or the young store clerk purchasing a phone with savings from a new job. "Even if I told them how to do that, they couldn't," Yang told Fortune in an interview in New York.

????Yang has plenty of other reasons for his swagger. Lenovo outsells Apple in smartphones and trounces its American rival in traditional computer sales in its home market. And other homegrown competition is coming on strong in China. Shenzhen-based ZTE is in a dead heat with Apple for smartphone sales. Huawei, mostly known outside China as a maker of networking gear, is the No. 5 smartphone player, with 9% market share.

????Analysts attributed some of the competitors' recent gains to Apple consumers sitting on the sidelines in anticipation of the iPhone 5, which will begin selling in China before the end of the year. But the Chinese insurgents can't be dismissed. They are all well capitalized and very aggressive. They're all mimicking Samsung's strategy of selling low-, medium-, and high-end phones. One ZTE model, for example, can be had for as little as 799 renminbi, or $125, without subsidies. And while these manufacturers are decidedly less cool than Apple, their brands are well recognized and respected in China. They aren't tweaking their products for the local market: They are building them for the Chinese consumer. And so the Huawei Ascend P1 has a lush new display, which, as one Shanghai-based reviewer noted, really makes the colors on mobile games (a near obsession among many Chinese smartphone users) "pop." China's big three electronics makers also are making aggressive bids for the tablet market, where Apple is the current market-share leader. The iPad 2 sold only moderately well in China, and, again, like the iPhone, it is a one-size-fits-all solution. Lenovo, ZTE, and Huawei offer a range of tablet-like devices, from inexpensive models that look a bit like oversize phones to Lenovo's new Yoga line, which combines a touchscreen with a full keyboard.

????All of which make rumors of an iPad mini especially interesting in the Chinese market. Several reports suggest the new device will boast a seven-inch screen and retail in the U.S. for about $300. This lower-cost tablet could be the kind of entry-level device a big swath of China has been waiting for: a chance to take a bite of the Apple brand, without investing half-a-year's salary. It might even suggest a willingness to develop entry-level products for the iPhone and computing lines. (It also isn't unprecedented: Remember the iPod Shuffle?)

????Even if Apple doesn't decide to delve any deeper into lower-end devices, it still has plenty of ways to juice its growth in China. The company has yet to secure a deal to run the iPhone on the China Mobile network. For years the two companies have been negotiating; every year the rumor mill churns that a deal between the two is imminent. There's fresh speculation, once again, that the iPhone 5 will be the device that seals the deal. A source at China Mobile will say only that the two companies continue to have conversations, but that no final deal has been reached. But just as the availability of the iPhone on new carriers in the U.S. expanded Apple's reach, a China Mobile deal would have a huge impact on Apple's presence in China. The cellphone company has a 66% market share in China.