4S phone fever hits China

 　　BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Thirty-year-old Chen Liang acquired his iPhone 4S in a relatively¹ straightforward² way without visiting the gray market. He typed "Looking for an iPhone 4S through weibo" on the Chinese equivalent of Twitter at 9 am on Oct 17 and secured one by 2 pm that day.

　　The software engineer was lucky. Thousands of Chinese Apple fans are desperate for the 4S regardless of the price and effort required after China was left out of Apple's list of first and second groups of countries where it launched its latest product.

　　"A friend's friend in Canada put me in contact with a supplier and I'm getting one for just 5,500 yuan ($859). Unauthorized Apple retailers³ are setting their floor price at 8,000 yuan," said Chen, from Jiangsu province.

　　"I need to have one because I see the potential of its cloud computing⁴ service and artificial intelligence application. That's currently a wide open area in China. Simply speaking, other smartphones allow you to access search engines while the 4S's cloud search using Siri - a voice recognition and talking assistant - helps to filter irrelevant⁵ results and makes suggestions for you. My work-related curiosity drove me to get one because it is the future for phones."

　　Jin Jianhan, who works at a Shanghai-based IT company, says he will do whatever it takes to get a 4S because "it's very important to get an Apple product when it's first launched".

　　Jin plans to contact his friends in the United States to see whether they can send him one and to keep an eye on the Hong Kong market in case the special administrative⁶ region gets the green light to sell the devices in the third round of agreements.

　　"I'd try both ways and go for the overseas one first even it won't cover my domestic Apple guarantee," said Jin. "I will take the Hong Kong 4S when it's available to replace the American one."

　　In its first round of agreements, Apple launched the iPhone 4S in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan. Apple said on Oct 17, the third day after its release, that more than four million iPhone 4S devices had been sold. That figure is more than double the 1.7 million units of the iPhone 4 that Apple sold during its first three days on the market in June last year.

　　The second group of countries to be licensed⁷ were mostly other European states. They will get the product by the end of October. Apple China refused to give a date for when it will be sold on the mainland.

　　Meanwhile, Apple fans all over the world are paying their respects to Apple guru Steve Jobs by snapping up the iPhone 4S in record numbers. Wang Bo, who works as an industrial designer in Sydney, Australia, reserved his at a local store.

　　"It's the last Apple product that he (Steve Jobs) ever worked with," said Wang. "I'm buying it as a souvenir."

　　In Huaqiangbei, an area in Shenzhen known for its many consumer electronics shops, unauthorized Apple dealer⁸ Zhou Bin⁹ has been happy to work overtime¹⁰ since the night of Oct 15, the first day that he received supplies of the iPhone 4S.

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

3 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

4 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

5 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

6 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

7 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

8 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

9 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

10 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。