“There are lessons in there for Jamaica to learn, in terms of how do you
go about encouraging start-ups and getting foreign investment. At the right
price, there is certainly a market in Jamaica. Those are the sort of things we
should be encouraging”
President of the Jamaica
Manufacturer’s Association of (JMA) Brian Pengelley commenting on Haiti making Tablets
in the Jamaica Gleaner on Friday January 3, 2014
The GOJ (Government of Jamaica) is missing a massive opportunity as it
relates to manufacturing Tablets according to his comments captured in the “Ja,
like Haiti, can make Tablets”, Published Friday January 3, 2014 by Richard
Browne, Business Reporter, The Jamaica
Gleaner. So says the President of the Jamaica Manufacturer’s Association of
(JMA) Brian Pengelley!
Hint: Dear reader if you can’t read this article, that means you’ve
exceeded your monthly cap of fifteen (15) articles for The Jamaica Gleaner.
Merely clear your Cookies and Browsing History using CCleaner as hinted in my Geezam blog article entitled “Tips
and Tricks on how to make your computer run faster”. Also log out of
Facebook and Twitter and stop receiving The
Jamaica Gleaner via email. Then relaunch in another Browser and access The Jamaica Gleaner Website!
Apparently we Jamaicans can make Tablets too.
Apparently we Jamaicans can make Tablets too.
Just as Haiti, an earthquake ravaged impoverished country is currently
doing as noted in “Haiti
manufactures touch-screen Tablet”, Published Wednesday November 27, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner. Good to note that
Haiti used to make electronics; years of Embargos by both French and American
Government killed that industry until they released their stranglehold after
the Earthquake Struck on Tuesday 12th January 2010 at 4:53 pm as noted in my blog article
entitled “Funding
Haiti reconstruction is the responsibility of the French, as it is their
“property””.
An Earthquake that was caused by HAARP (High altitude Auroral Project) as
explained in extreme detail in my blog article
entitled “HAARP
Exposed - How the US Government is using Weather Modification Technology as the
next Weapon of Mass Destruction”. But that’s just my opinion, so feel free
to ignore this!
Haiti can also manufacture high quality products as well. Tablet
Manufacturing is a clear sign that Haiti has been slowly recovering since the
Earthquake and Tsunami Struck not to mention the ease of making a Tablet. After
all, it just a capacitive touch screen with a Mainboard, Memory and Processor,
no different from a smartphone. All components that can be cheaply imported
from China!
More importantly, the fact that Haiti can make these products makes them
a Caribbean East Asia, capable of making low and high quality electronics
gadgets for export based on the comment of Surtab CEO
Maarten Boute, quote: “We can do high quality products here - not just
T-shirts, but something with a little more value, which can allow us to pay our
workers better and create a different type of economy than what's been the
case”.
Jamaican can also make them too, as demonstrated from the
video above showing working conditions in a US$55 Allwinner Boxchip A13 Tablet
Factory. Jamaica has a history of manufacturing, particularly Food Processing
as noted in my blog
article entitled “Jamaica's
Basic Item Food Bill mostly from 1st World Countries - Buy Jamaican Build
Jamaica made from Imported Raw Materials in containers that says Made in
Jamaica” that we can draw upon for a Talent pool of easily trainable Staff.
The clean-room needed is not much higher than that of an
operating theatre. Clean Rooms ar this level that we already have knowledge of
building and installing in Jamaica! Jamaica is ripe for Tablet manufacturing,
as we ourselves are a ready market along with the, the US of A that already
desires 7” Tablets as 35% of Americans tote on about as per Pew Research Stats
in my blog
article entitled “Pew
Internet Research indicates that 35% of Americans own a Tablet - Jamaicans may
develop a Taste for Tablets by 2015”.
Haiti Making
Tablets for export – Digicel is selling Tablets for Surtab SA that had
Digicel roots
But back to the news at hand!
Haiti’s two (2) rival Tablet makers Startups Surtab SA and Handxom SA
began production in December 2013 of 7” Tablets as reported by the Associated
Press and reproduced in our Daily Newspaper in “Rival
manufacturers launch ventures to build Android Tablets in Haiti”, published
Friday, December 27, 2013 4:58 PM, The
Jamaica Observer and “Rival
Tablet manufacturers launch in Haiti”, Published Sunday December 29, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner.
And there’s a Digicel connection too; Surtab’s CEO
Maarten Boute, a Belgian, was previously CEO of Digicel Haiti in 2012. Thus
he’s basically spun about and is now using his business connections with
Digicel to supply them with Tablets, most likely for export as most Haitians
cannot afford these US$100 7” Tablets, albeit he aims to make them affordable in the near future!
This thanks to a US$200,000 from grant from the Pan-American
Development Fund and a partnership with a wealthy Danish Husband and wife team
and a Wealthy Haitina Family as Board Members.
And their ambition is grand; Total Tablet Domination of
Haiti, as soon as they can get the price down, if the words of Surtab’s CEO
Maarten Boute are worth their weight in Tablet, quote: “We want to democratise
access and we want almost every single Haitian to be able to afford our product
to serve the purpose of their technological needs.We want people to know that
Haiti can be an important crossroad for appliances and electronics
manufacturing. Haiti has very good working people and they have the passion”.
Aside from Digicel, Education and Planning ministries are also clients of
Surtab, even selling the U$85 7” Surtab Tablet in their
stores! They’re quality products, as clearly even the Haitian Prime
Minister Laurent Lamothe endorses the Surtab’s usage during the launch of the
product, quote: “We are proud to have this Tablet that is made in Haiti and it
works fine and, as you can see, I am using it”.
Here are the specs on the 7” Surtab Tablet made in Haiti as
per the article “Affordable
Surtab Tablet Is Made in Haiti, Runs Android 4.0”, published November 28th,
2013, 10:37 GMT By Alexandra Arici, Softpedia.com:
1.
Processor: 1.2GHz Boxchip A13 Processor
2.
OS: Android 4.0
3.
Screen: 7" with 800 x 480 pixels Resolution
4.
Weight: 287 g / 0.63 lbs
5.
RAM: 512MB of RAM.
6.
Internal storage: 4 GB
7.
External Storage: 32 GB via MicroSD Card
8.
Front Facing Camera: 0.3 Megapixel
9.
Rear Facing Camera: 2 Megapixel
10.
Internet connectivity: Wi-Fi, 3G
The Surtab Tablet comes in two (2) versions:
1. US$100
(EU€74) Wi-fi Versions
2. US$200
(EU€14) Wi-fi and 3G Version
The specs on the U$85 7” Surtab Tablet are pretty basic and
are on the same level as the Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite as described in my blog article
entitled “US$200
Huawei Media Pad 7 Lite from Digicel compared to the Apple iPad 2 and the
Google Nexus 7 - Excellent Tablet choices to avoid the Delivery Man this
Christmas” but at US$100 less! I’m impressed to say the least!
Interestingly, it's not a sweat shop, as according to
Surtab's Operations Manager, Diderot Musset, Surtab's 50 employees. Of that
workforce, 20 work in their Clean Room Assembly lines, earning US$6.81 per day
with Bonuses for achieving certain KPI (Key Performance Indexes) that push that
amount to US$13.that's not even counting the invaluable experience of working
in such a High-Tech environment!
Haiti should
Inspire Jamaica – Cheaper Electricity and Rare Earth means this is also
Possible
Apparently they’d must have read my Geezam
blog article “The
Two Towers of Tablets, 7” Amazon Kindle Fire and 7.9” Apple iPad are the Global
Tablet size of Choice” on the coming storm of 7” Tablets and decided to
take advantage of Haiti’s high unemployment and low wage environment to make
high-end Tablets.
That bit of news relating to its usage by the Haitian Government should
be even more encouragement for the Ministry of Science, Technology Energy and
Mining and the Ministry of Education to pursue the same aim as it relates to
the procurement of a Contractor to supply Tablets for E-Learning II.
This idea of manufacturing Jamaica’s Tablets should be priority before
the Pilot Project ends in June 2014 as reported in my blog article entitled
“Ministry
of Science and Technology yet to announce Tablet Contractor - 400,000 Tablets
for E-Learning II Project in 5 years as Test Pilot to end June 2014” as it
can save on the cost of Tablet Programme.
We now have the much dreamed about possibility of lower energy costs
thanks to last year’s award of the contract to EWI (Energy World International)
to build the 360 MW LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) Power Plant as noted in my blog article
entitled “360
MW LNG Power Plant and 115 MW Renewable Energy Project Bidders have submitted
Bids - Congratulations to the Energy Bidders as Liberated Energy Sector is
Power to the People”.
We already have a manufacturing Pedigree which can be leverage to making
any product aside from just Food Processing Processed Foods made from imported
Raw Materials in Tin Cans, Plastic and Glass Bottle or Sachets that says “Made
in Jamaica” as opined in my blog article
entitled “Jamaica's
Basic Item Food Bill mostly from 1st World Countries - Buy Jamaican Build
Jamaica made from Imported Raw Materials in containers that says Made in
Jamaica”.
We even have some of the raw materials for making LED (Light
Emitting Diodes), Li-Ion Batteries and even Solar Panels as noted in my blog article
entitled “No
news on progress of the Rare Earth Pilot Plant at JBI - Cuba-Jamaica CFL
Project Heralds manufacturing of LED's, Li-Ion Batteries and Sapphire Screens
in Jamaica”.
Now all we need is the GOJ in concert with its Ministry
of Science, Technology Energy and Mining and the Ministry of Education to
champion this idea and float a RFP (Request for Proposal) before the end of the
E-Learning II Pilot Project in June 2014 for the construction of a Plant to
make LED’s, Li-Ion Batteries, Solar Panels……and Tablet Computers!
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