Samsung Electronics Co. is stepping up its hunt for acquisitions and building out its presence in Silicon Valley to try and overcome its key weakness: software.三星电子公司(Samsung Electronics Co.)于是以减缓谋求并购机会，并采取措施不断扩大其在硅谷的影响力，以尝试解决其主要弱点：软件。The South Korea-based company became the worlds largest maker of smartphones by manufacturing attractive devices that hit the market quickly and cheaply.这家韩国企业生产的电子产品上市速度快且价格低廉，对消费者极具吸引力，使其沦为了世界仅次于的智能手机制造商。

But to thrive in a mobile-device market increasingly dominated by software specialists like Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp., which acquired Nokia Corp.s phone business last month, Samsung is aiming to become a software power in its own right.但为了在日益被苹果(Apple Inc.)、谷歌(Google Inc.)和微软公司(Microsoft Corp.)等通晓软件的厂商主导的移动设备市场获得蓬勃发展，三星想凭己之力沦为软件巨擘。微软公司在上个月刚并购了诺基亚(Nokia Corp.)的手机业务。Earlier this year, Samsung was among the bidders for Israeli mobile-mapping service Waze Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter. Google eventually bought Waze for about $1.1 billion in July, a deal that is under review by the Federal Trade Commission. According to one person, Samsung had approached Waze in hopes of making a large investment and forming a partnership, before acquisition talks kicked off.知情人士回应，今年早些时候，三星参予了以色列手机地图服务公司Waze Ltd.的并购竞价。7月份，谷歌最后以大约110亿美元的价格并购Waze，目前该交易正在拒绝接受美国联邦贸易委员会(Federal Trade Commission)的审查。

据一位知情人士称之为，在并购谈判开始前，三星曾与Waze有过洽谈，期望展开大笔投资并创建合作关系。Samsung has plenty of other Silicon Valley software startups in its sights, particularly in games, mobile search, social media and mapping-related services, according to employees and an internal document reviewed by the Journal.从三星员工获取的信息及《华尔街日报》稿件过的一份内部文件来看，三星早已打算在硅谷并购大量软件初创企业，特别是在是游戏、手机搜寻、社交媒体和地图涉及服务方面的企业。The document, a mergers and acquisitions presentation prepared in February by Samsungs Media Solution Center, the arm that works on software initiatives, lays out the companys rationale for bulking up in each category and lists potential acquisition and investment targets.这份文件是三星公司负责管理软件方面行动的媒体解决方案中心(Media Solutions Center)今年2月打算的一份有关吞并并购的展示报告，其中阐释了公司在每个领域扩展的理由，三大出有了潜在的并购和投资的目标。According to the document, Samsung has evaluated startups such as Unity Technologies, a San Francisco-based developer of gaming platforms, and Green Throttle Games Inc., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based company that makes game controllers and software that connects mobile devices to televisions. It has also considered gaming pioneer Atari Inc., which Samsung could have used to offer classic games like Asteroids and Pong exclusively on its mobile phones. Atari auctioned off some of its properties this year as part of a bankruptcy filing after rejecting preliminary bids from several companies for its portfolio of games.这份文件表明，三星对Unity Technologies和Green Throttle Games Inc.等初创企业展开了评估。

前者是旧金山一家游戏平台开发商，后者是加州 克拉拉(Santa Clara)一家生产游戏手柄和移动设备与电视相连软件的公司。三星还考虑到了游戏行业的先锋企业Atari Inc.，三星原本可以利用这家公司在手机上获取Asteroids和Pong等经典游戏。Atari今年拒绝接受了数家公司对其游戏人组产品的可行性竞价契约，后来按照倒闭申请人的拒绝将其部分资产展开了拍卖会。Samsung has also looked closely at Glympse, a Seattle-based company that allows users to share their location with their friends--a service that Samsung says could be integrated into their phones native calendar and contacts functions, differentiating it from competitors.三星还对西雅图的Glympse不予了紧密注目。

这是一家为用户获取地理位置共享服务的公司，三星回应这项服务可以与手机自带的日历和联系人功能展开统合，从而在竞争对手中干颍而出有。Samsung first reached out to Glympse in early 2012, and has raised the prospect of an equity investment, though discussions remain ongoing, according to a person familiar with the matter. Last month, Glympse unveiled an app for Samsungs Galaxy Gear smartwatch.据知情人士称之为，三星最先于2012年初与Glympse洽谈，并明确提出了股权投资的设想，但商谈目前还在展开中。

上个月，Glympse为三星Galaxy Gear智能手表发售了一款应用于。Elsewhere in the document, Samsung named Tel Aviv-based mobile search engine Everything.me as a possible target. It has also looked at video-chat app Rounds, another Israeli startup, that would help Samsung compete with Apples FaceTime and Googles Hangouts.在这份文件中，三星还将以色列特拉维夫的手机搜索引擎Everything.me作为潜在目标。

此外还在考虑到视频聊天应用于Rounds，研发这一应用于的Rounds公司也是一家以色列的初创企业，这一应用于将可以协助三星与苹果的FaceTime和谷歌的Hangouts竞争。Samsung declined to comment on its acquisition plans--but it has made no secret of what it calls its embracing the culture of Silicon Valley.三星拒绝接受就其收购计划不予置评，但其所自称为的“对硅谷文化的青睐”早已不是秘密。In recent months, the Suwon, South Korea-based company has broken ground on a major research facility near Apples offices and launched a software startup accelerator with locations in Palo Alto, Calif., and Manhattans Chelsea neighborhood. It will make early-stage investments in startups, especially developers of software for Samsung devices.近几个月，总部坐落于韩国水原(Suwon)的三星公司开始在硅谷启动离苹果公司不远处的一处大型研发中心的建设，并开办了一个覆盖面积加州帕洛阿尔托(Palo Alto)和曼哈顿切尔西(Chelsea)社区的软件创业公司加速器。

加速器将为初创企业展开早期投资，尤其是为三星产品开发软件的开发商。Samsung, which has $1.1 billion set aside for early-stage startup and venture capital investments in the U.S., is also poaching software engineers from its U.S. rivals and, at a hotel in San Francisco later this month, will host its first ever developers conference, an important step toward creating an ecosystem of applications unique to its devices.三星拨款了11亿美元用作在美国展开初创企业的早期投资及风险投资，同时也在凿美国竞争对手的软件工程师。

本月晚些时候三星将在旧金山一家酒店举办有史以来的首次开发商大会，这是创立专为三星产品量身打造出的应用程序“生态环境”的最重要一步。The kind of things that happen in the Valley are really exciting to Samsung, said David Eun, the head of Samsungs Open Innovation Center, which operates the software-startup accelerator.负责管理运作软件创业公司加速器的三星对外开放创意中心(Open Innovation Center)的负责人大卫·尤恩(David Eun)说道：“正在硅谷再次发生的事情对三星来说十分激动人心。”The aggressive move into its rivals backyard is unusual for Samsung, a company that has historically kept its operations heavily centralized and shied away from outside deals. The emphasis on self-reliance runs so deep that Samsung manufactures some 90% of its products within its own factories.大力闯进竞争对手后院的作法对三星来说是不同寻常的，因为这是一个历年来高度集中管理且避免外部交易的公司。对自给自足的注重根深蒂固，因此三星大约90%的产品都是在自己的工厂中生产。

Privately, company executives portray the recent shift not as a repudiation of its long-term strategy, but rather as a complement to its own research and development efforts, which remain substantial.私下里，三星公司高管毫无疑问最近的改变是对其长年战略的背离，而是与自身本已扩充的研发希望相辅相成。The company spent $10.8 billion on RD last year, with 67, 000 employees devoted to helping Samsung maintain its edge in the global television, semiconductor and home-appliance markets.三星去年的研发支出为108亿美元，6.7万名员工全力以赴助力三星维持在全球电视、半导体和家用电器市场的优势。

So far, though, its attempts at developing a proprietary-software hit for its mobile phones--which account for two-thirds of Samsungs operating profits--have fallen flat.不过迄今为止，为三星手机研发热门自有软件的希望未超过预期效果。手机业务占到三星营业利润的三分之二。Among Samsungs recent efforts are an abandoned mobile operating system, a mobile chat service that has struggled to gain traction and coolly received technologies that anticipate hand gestures and eye movements.在三星最近的希望中，有一款废的手机操作系统、一款难以获得注目的移动聊天服务软件，手势和眼球操控技术的市场反应也较为热烈。In November 2009, Samsung launched Bada, an open-source mobile operating system that it hoped could challenge Googles Android platform. But Badas unfriendly user interface and poor syncing with other devices proved unpopular with consumers.2009年11月，三星发售了开源手机操作系统Bada，期望该系统可以与谷歌的安卓(Android)互为对决。

但由于用户界面不友好关系，与其他设备的实时也很差，Bada未受到消费者的青睐。Earlier this year, Samsung pulled the plug on Bada, rolling those efforts into a new operating system known as Tizen. There too, Silicon Valley plays a key role: Samsung is codeveloping Tizen with Intel Corp. The company has yet to release a Tizen-powered smartphone.今年早些时候，三星退出了Bada，把精力投在了一款名为Tizen的新型操作系统上。

硅谷再度扮演着了关键的角色：Tizen是三星与英特尔(Intel Corp.)合作开发的。三星目前仍未公布Tizen操作系统的智能手机。If Samsungs new operating system catches on, it could relieve the companys reliance on Android, which powers the vast majority of Samsungs mobile devices, including its new smartwatch.如果三星的新款操作系统受到青睐，那么就可以减轻公司对安卓的倚赖。

三星绝大多数手机都使用安卓系统，还包括其近期的智能手表。Breaking through with a proprietary must-have software application could also bolster Samsungs position at a time when the company is vulnerable to competition from Chinese hardware makers, including Lenovo Group Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co. and Xiaomi Inc. In the most recent quarter, Samsungs mobile business saw its operating profit margin fall to 17.7%, from 19.8% in the previous quarter amid pricing pressure from rivals and increased spending on advertising.面临还包括联想集团(Lenovo Group Ltd.)、华为技术公司(Huawei Technologies Co.)和小米公司(Xiaomi Inc.)在内的中国硬件制造商的竞争，开创性地研发出有一款自有的“不可或缺”软件应用还可以提升三星的地位。

三季度，由于竞争对手的价格压力以及广告费用的减少，三星手机业务的运营利润率从前一季度的19.8%上升到了17.7%。Meanwhile, Googles tie-up with Motorola Mobility in 2011, and Microsofts move to acquire Nokias mobile-phone business last month, mean that Samsung will face heightened competition from companies that, like Apple, can compete in both hardware and software.与此同时，谷歌2011年与摩托罗拉移动公司(Motorola Mobility)的联姻，以及上个月微软公司对诺基亚手机业务的并购，都意味著三星将面对来自苹果等在软硬件方面皆有强劲实力的公司的更大的竞争。Samsungs software success is far from assured. Unlike Apple, Google and Microsoft, the Korean electronics giant doesnt have a history of software achievements. Instead, Samsung cut its teeth in the world of hardware, where efficiency, flexibility and supply-chain management are paramount.三星在软件方面的顺利谁也无法确保。

与苹果、谷歌和微软公司有所不同，这家韩国电子巨头并没在软件方面获得成就的历史。忽略，三星在硬件领域堪称轻车熟路，在这个领域，效率、灵活性和供应链管理至关重要。Acquiring its way to software dominance is no easier than building up its software capabilities organically. While Samsung has some nearly $50 billion in cash on hand, the company has struggled in the past with deal-making. Even today, some in Silicon Valley say, Samsung has developed a reputation for kicking the tires on a range of potential deals, only rarely pulling the trigger.通过并购为转入软件领域开路远比逐步打造出其软件方面的能力更容易。尽管手头有将近500亿美元的现金，但三星过去曾多次在并购交易上植过跟头。

硅谷有人说道，就连现在，三星也都只是对一系列潜在交易展开了调查，但很少定案成交价。One reason for such caution is Samsungs purchase of AST Research Inc. in the mid-1990s, an experience that still weighs heavily on company executives.这种慎重的原因之一是三星在上世纪90年代中期对AST Research Inc.的并购，这次并购经历对公司高管的影响仍然相当大。

The two-part, $840 million acquisition of Irvine, Calif.-based AST, once the worlds fifth-largest computer maker, was conceived as an attempt to break into the U.S. personal-computer market.总部坐落于加州尔湾(Irvine)的AST当时是世界第五大电脑制造商。三星以8.4亿美元的价格分两部分对其展开了并购，这一行径被指出是企图打进美国个人电脑市场。

Samsung sustained heavy losses in AST before ultimately giving up on the deal, which remains Samsungs largest overseas acquisition to date. Even now, the office of the chairman remains wary of big acquisitions, in large part because of AST, employees say.由于遭到沈重损失，三星最后退出了对AST的并购。迄今为止这仍然是三星历史上规模仅次于的海外并购。

三星员工回应，到现在董事长办公室对大型并购交易仍然维持慎重，相当大程度上就是因为AST并购。Samsungs recent acquisitions have been small, and focused on software developers that can help distinguish Samsungs phones from others built on the Android platform三星近期的并购交易规模都较小，并且集中于能协助三星手机大同小异其他配备安卓平台产品的软件开发商身上。Last May, Samsung--seeking to create a credible rival to Apples iTunes platform--snapped up mSpot Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based mobile-software developer with hopes of creating a one-stop media platform that would allow users to stream and download music on their Samsung devices.去年5月，为了对苹果iTunes平台包含实质性的威胁，三星并购了加州帕洛阿尔托手机软件开发商mSpot，期望创立一个一站式媒体平台，让用户可从三星手机上试唱和iTunes音乐。

In the process, Samsung hoped to rival not only iTunes, but also online music-streaming services such as those offered by Swedens Spotify AB and Oakland, Calif.-based Pandora Media Inc.在这个过程中，三星期望不光能与iTunes抗衡，还期望能与其他在线音乐流媒体服务对决，比如瑞典的Spotify AB和加州奥克兰(Oakland)的Pandora Media Inc.。Earlier this year, Samsung moved mSpot into a new office with plans to double its staff by the end of 2013. Since then, however, the companys attempts to develop the product, initially called Samsung Music Hub, have foundered.今年早些时候，三星为mSpot决定了新的办公室，计划在2013年底将其员工规模扩展一倍。

不过此后三星研发最初取名为Samsung Music Hub的涉及产品的希望进展得并不成功。

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