China’s already crowded smartphone market just got more packed, with new devices from Letv — a Chinese internet company relatively¹ unknown to many westerners — netting 1.2m pre-orders in a single day.

中国本已拥挤不堪的智能手机市场变得更加拥挤了。许多西方人相对陌生的中国互联网公司乐视(Letv)新推的手机在一天就接到了120万预订单。

The company, which runs one of China’s better known video streaming websites, launched the Le1, Le1 Pro² and LeMax smartphones. Letv is offering free internet and free video content to its smartphone users, as well as a relatively low price of $245 for the Le1.

乐视推出了乐1、乐1 Pro和乐Max 三款智能手机。乐视经营着中国较为知名的视频播放网站之一。乐视向其智能手机用户提供免费上网服务和免费视频内容，还有相对低廉的价格——乐1售价为245美元。

Xiaomi, an internet company that branched out into selling phones, adopted a similar strategy four years ago. Its device was intended to be a “gateway³ to an ecosystem⁴” rather than merely a device on which to make calls and surf online.

此前将业务范围拓展到手机销售的互联网公司小米(Xiaomi)，在4年前采取了类似的策略。小米旨在把自己的设备打造成“一个生态系统的入口”，而不仅仅是一款用来打电话和上网的设备。

Letv’s advantage is its access to content, including foreign television series such as Netflix’s House of Cards.

乐视的优势在于获得其内容，包括Netflix的《纸牌屋》(House of Cards)等外国电视连续剧。

But although 1.2m pre-orders might be cause for champagne⁵ corks⁶ to pop elsewhere in the world, it is not that big a deal in China — new smartphone launches in the country can generate 4m daily pre-orders from the likes of the industry leaders such as Huawei and Xiaomi.

尽管换到世界其他任何地方，120万预订单值得打开香槟庆祝，但这在中国并不是什么大事。华为(Huawei)和小米等业内领军企业推出新款智能手机时，每天都能获得400万预订单。

Xin Haiguang, a technology industry expert in Beijing, said the level of pre-orders was “an encouraging number for Letv, a newcomer smartphone maker⁷. But it does not come as a huge surprise, nor is it very likely that the number is exaggerated, because frankly⁸ it’s not that large.”

北京科技行业专家信海光表示，这个预订单水平“会令新来的智能手机制造商乐视感到鼓舞。但这个数字不是特别出人意料，也不太可能被夸大了，因为坦白讲，这个数字不那么大。”

Xiaomi wrote the playbook on marketing⁹ smartphones in China with its online strategy, cheap prices and networks of fans who popularise the phones through word-of-mouth. This method has been widely mimicked¹⁰ by competitors, prompting Xiaomi last month to cut prices on its latest phone model, the Mi4, due to competition.

小米是中国市场智能手机的营销高手，其套路包括在线策略、低廉价格和粉丝网络——粉丝们的口碑传播使小米手机家喻户晓。竞争对手们纷纷仿效这个方法，导致小米迫于竞争压力，上月降低了其最新机型小米4的价格。

Letv declined to comment.

乐视拒绝置评。