有声英语故事连载：《名人传记》之乔布斯 第90期

故事连载

 

When we were planning the launch of the iPod across Europe,

我们在欧洲的销售计划中

an important thing we had to manage with the iPod

有很关键的一个环节

was to make sure we kind of undersupplied the demand

就是要实行饥饿销售

so that we’d only roll it out

我们的策略是

almost in response to cities crying out for those iPods to be available

只让iPod在市场需求量很大的城市上市

and that’s how we kept that kind of cachet for the iPod in its early years.

这就是iPod早期成功的秘诀

And we’d use extensive data research to understand

我们进行了广泛的市场调查

what the kind of relative strength of doing that in Rome versus Madrid would be.

比较了iPod在罗马还是马德里上市的利弊

 

Unlike most other MP3 players, which worked with either Macs or PCs,

其他的MP3与Mac和PC都是兼容的

the iPod needed Apple software running on an Apple computer.

但iPod却必须用到苹果电脑和苹果软件

For Steve Jobs, this closed system seemed to be a virtuous circle.

史蒂夫认为 这个闭合的系统会造成良性循环

When they sell iPods at the beginning,

一旦iPod打入了市场

it locks you into the system,

就会把消费者锁入循环之内

and iPods have an immediate impact

继而提高Mac的销量

on Apple Mac sales within the profitability of the corporation as a whole.

让公司全方位提升盈利

Ultimately, Jobs realized that

后来 乔布斯终于意识到

Apple could make even more money by creating an iPod for Windows.

让iPod兼容Windows系统会为公司带来更多收入

Steve knew that, for him to take Apple to another place,

史蒂夫明白 要使苹果更上一层楼

 

he had to break out of the Mac ghetto,

它就必须打破Mac的牢笼

which is his gated community of loyal fans who love the product.

尽管这个牢笼拥有众多忠实粉丝

Music became his way of reaching that larger audience.

音乐是招揽更多用户的好方法

..is the new iPod. Apple was on a roll.

这是新一代iPod 苹果势如破竹

The iPod quickly became the number one digital music player in America and beyond.

在美国乃至世界各地 iPod都是销量第一的数码播放器

You suddenly saw them everywhere,

一夜之间 iPod变得随处可见

and its success set the company on a new course.

它的成功为公司开拓了新的方向