????谷歌公司（Google）的安卓（Android）和蘋果公司（Apple）的iOS操作系統的對手如今已經在亞洲出現，意味著全球在移動計算領域的霸權爭奪戰將隨時打響。

????首先出戰、意欲撼動市場價值高達3414億美元的全球手機市場的是“中國操作系統”（China Operating System，以下簡稱COS），它由中國科學院（Chinese Academy of Sciences）與其私營合作伙伴聯彤網絡通訊公司（Liantong Network Communications Technology）合作開發。

????第二位抱負同樣遠大的強勁對手是泰澤（Tizen），它由韓國電子巨頭三星公司（Samsung）與數位強大的合作伙伴共同開發，其中包括美國芯片巨頭英特爾公司（Intel）、日本富士通公司（Fujitsu）、中國華為公司（Huawei）及歐洲電信巨頭沃達豐公司（Vodafone）。三星不僅想讓泰澤成為與谷歌的Android及蘋果的iOS一樣鼎鼎大名的品牌，它還想讓這套系統在汽車、智能家電和電視上獲得廣泛應用。

????COS和泰澤可能都將在今年第二季度正式推出。目前中國電信（China Telecom）和中國移動（China Mobile）正在測試COS平臺，而三星近期則在韓國推出了一款搭載泰澤的數碼相機。

????美國公司一直在移動通訊所用的軟件領域占據著近乎統治性的市場地位。這兩支亞洲新軍具備對這種統治地位發動正面挑戰所需的實力嗎？COS和泰澤都擁有對安卓和iOS發起像樣打擊的潛力——盡管事實上這兩個全球霸主牢牢把控著96%的市場份額，地位之鞏固似乎無可撼動。

????面對一心挑戰的操作系統，谷歌的安卓尤其不堪一擊，因為有太多原始設備制造商用了它，一旦有更好的操作系統推出，它們就會把安卓當成燙手山芋扔到一邊。

????中國賣得最好的七大智能手機品牌中，有五個是中國自主品牌：聯想（Lenovo）、華為、宇龍（Yulong，即酷派手機制造商——譯注）、小米（Xiaomi）和中興（ZTE）。如果這些品牌都從安卓轉投COS——比如，中國政府以考慮國家安全的名義說服它們這么做——安卓就有可能在一夜之間被逐出這個全球最大的無線市場之一。

????而征服中國市場仍將是場艱巨的持久戰。高德納公司（Gartner）上海辦公室的研究總監桑迪?沈說：“如果政府出面說服，有些廠商可能會生產一兩款搭載國產系統的手機。但如果完全采用國產系統，它們就會失去市場份額，也有可能蒙受損失，這也是它們所難以承受的結果。”

????分析師們也對位于上海的聯彤網絡通訊公司的技術能力表示質疑，正是這家公司領銜開發了基于Linux系統的COS。弗雷斯特研究公司（Forrester Research）北京分公司資深分析師吉恩?曹說：“這家公司2012年剛成立，現在總共還不到150人。新的操作系統要提高穩定性還需要很長時間，像安卓這樣的系統版本一般也要升級上百次才行。”

????與此同時，三星的戰略優勢在于，如今市面上搭載安卓系統的智能手機和平板電腦中有63%都是它生產的。如果它決意全力以赴主推泰澤，谷歌一定會失去超過一半的安卓客戶。

????位于馬薩諸塞州弗雷明漢市的市場調研公司IDC的手機團隊研究經理雷蒙?拉馬說：“我不認為三星會因為啟用泰澤而放棄安卓，因為它的旗艦智能手機蓋世（Galaxy）系列幾乎就是安卓的代表。如果這些手機換用泰澤或其他操作系統，就會有疏遠核心用戶的風險。我估計三星以后除了提供安卓系統的手機，還會生產泰澤系統的手機。”

????Rivals to Google's (GOOG) Android and Apple's (AAPL) iOS operating systems have emerged in Asia, suggesting that a fierce global war over dominance in mobile computing is imminent.

????The first contender for shaking up the world's $341.4-billion mobile handset market is the China Operating System (COS), developed jointly by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and private-sector partner Liantong Network Communications Technology.

????The second up-and-comer with similarly large ambitions is Tizen, developed by South Korean electronics giant Samsung with a consortium of partners that includes U.S. microchip giant Intel (INTC), Japan's Fujitsu, China's Huawei, and European mobile carrier Vodafone (VOD). Samsung not only wants Tizen to become as big a brand name as Google's Android and Apple's iOS, it also wants to see its software used in cars, smart appliances, and televisions.

????Both COS and Tizen will likely be released in the second quarter; China Telecom and China Mobile are currently testing the COS platform, and Samsung recently launched a Tizen digital camera in South Korea.

????American companies have a near-monopoly over the software that powers mobile communication. Do the two Asian entrants have what it takes to mount a full-frontal assault on their dominance? COS and Tizen have the potential to deliver a serious blow to the fortunes of both Android and iOS -- despite the fact that these two global monsters have a seemingly unshakeable lock on 96% of the market.

????Google's Android is particularly vulnerable to a competing OS because it's used by a long list of original equipment manufacturers who could drop Android like a hot potato if a better OS comes along.

????Consider that five out of the top seven smartphones sold in China are made by Chinese companies: Lenovo, Huawei, Yulong, Xiaomi, and ZTE. If they were all to switch from Android to COS -- say, with a little persuasion from the Chinese government on grounds of national security -- then Android could be shut out of one of the world's biggest wireless markets virtually overnight.

????Still, conquering China will be an uphill battle. "Some of the vendors may do one or two devices if pressured by the government," says Sandy Shen, research director in Gartner's Shanghai office, "but they cannot afford to lose market share or suffer losses only to support the Chinese OS."

????Analysts also question the capabilities of Shanghai-based Liantong Network Communications, which led development of the Linux-based COS. "It was established in 2012 with less than 150 people," says Gene Cao, a senior analyst with Forrester Research in Beijing. "It takes time for a new OS to improve stability, which normally needs hundreds of version updates like Android."

????Meanwhile Samsung's strategic advantage is that fact that it makes 63% of all Android-powered smartphones and tablets on the market today. If it were to put its full weight behind Tizen, Google stands to lose more than half its Android customers.

????"I don't think Samsung will abandon Android in favor of Tizen because its flagship Galaxy smartphones are practically equated with Android," says Ramon Llamas, research manager with IDC's mobile phone team in Framingham, Mass. "To switch them over to Tizen, or any other operating system, risks alienating its core user base. I expect Samsung to offer Tizen-powered smartphones alongside its Android-powered ones."