Haiti's Surtab SA and Handxom SA making 7-inch Tablet to supply Digicel

“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!

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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!