<p dir="ltr">We received text messages about it on our Haitian cell phone numbers several times a day when it first came out (Digicel, the group selling it, is Haiti's most popular cell company). </p>
<p dir="ltr">It's great to see electronics being manufactured there. The idea that it can be dropped off at the factory for repairs is appealing. </p>
<p dir="ltr">But, low battery life and the nonstandard charger make this much less suitable for the majority of Haitians. You don't buy your cell phone from a store. You buy it from the street. Most people charge their cell phones on the street too. </p>

<p dir="ltr">As far as WiFi goes, most Internet users purchase USB dongles, and it sounds like they won't work in this port. </p>
<div class="gmail_quot<blockquote class=" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
  

    
  
  <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
    <br>
    <div>ever heard of this?<br>
      <br>
      -------- Original Message --------
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            <th align="RIGHT" nowrap valign="BASELINE">Subject:
            </th>
            <td>How Does the New Haitian Sūrtab Tablet Measure Up?</td>
          </tr>
          <tr>
            <th align="RIGHT" nowrap valign="BASELINE">Date: </th>
            <td>Mon, 5 May 2014 16:00:36 +0000</td>
          </tr>
          <tr>
            <th align="RIGHT" nowrap valign="BASELINE">From: </th>
            <td>Inveneo <a href="mailto:jana@inveneo.org" target="_blank"><jana@inveneo.org></a></td>
          </tr>
          <tr>
            <th align="RIGHT" nowrap valign="BASELINE">Reply-To:
            </th>
            <td><a href="mailto:us4-6589affec7-f2ed88c099@conversation01.mailchimpapp.com" target="_blank"><us4-6589affec7-f2ed88c099@conversation01.mailchimpapp.com></a></td>
          </tr>
          <tr>
            <th align="RIGHT" nowrap valign="BASELINE">To: </th>
            <td>Yamandu <a href="mailto:yamaplos@gmail.com" target="_blank"><yamaplos@gmail.com></a></td>
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                                  <div style="font-size:24px;font-weight:bold;color:#8b0000;font-family:Georgia;line-height:110%"><span style="font-size:24px"><a href="http://ictworks.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=84e9f392a668e74df589375c7&id=174c7a38a3&e=486ae1ca5b" style="color:#800000;text-decoration:underline;font-weight:normal" target="_blank">How
                                        Does the New Haitian Sūrtab
                                        Tablet<br>
                                        Measure Up?</a></span></div>
                                  <div style="font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;color:#000000;font-style:normal;font-family:Georgia">By Sam
                                    Perales, Inveneo Senior Field
                                    Engineer</div>
                                  <div style="float:right;margin-left:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><img alt="" src="http://www.ictworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/sur7_2a1.png" border="0" height="265" width="265"></div>
                                  <p>Since 2013, consumers have had
                                    their eye on a new Haitian-made
                                    tablet, known as the Sūrtab. It’s
                                    price and weight may seem ideal, but
                                    how does it measure up in terms of
                                     durability? With all of <a href="http://ictworks.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=84e9f392a668e74df589375c7&id=5dd5f30e1d&e=486ae1ca5b" style="color:#800000;text-decoration:underline;font-weight:normal" target="_blank">Inveneo’s work in
                                      Haiti</a>, the team wanted to run
                                    the Sūrtab7 WIFI through the paces
                                    using <a href="http://ictworks.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=84e9f392a668e74df589375c7&id=a6c0df4915&e=486ae1ca5b" style="color:#800000;text-decoration:underline;font-weight:normal" target="_blank">Inveneo’s standard
                                      testing process</a> to see how
                                    well the Sūrtab performs.</p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">What were the results?</p>
                                  <p dir="ltr"><strong>Product
                                      Description</strong></p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">Sūrtab tablet manufacture
                                    is producing lightweight and
                                    affordable tablets made in Port au
                                    Prince, Haiti. This is a new
                                    company, and availability is limited
                                    as they ramp up operations. They are
                                    currently offering three models:
                                    Sūrtab7 3GHD, Sūrtab7 3G, and
                                    Sūrtab7 WIFI.</p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">Inveneo decided to review
                                    the lowest-cost touchscreen Sūrtab7
                                    WIFI model.</p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">Sūrtab7 WIFI comes at an
                                    affordable price of ($100 USD +/-)
                                    making it attractive for consumers
                                    (especially those in developing
                                    countries). The Sūrtab7 WIFI comes
                                    with Android 4.1 and access to the
                                    Google Play store which has over
                                    600,000 apps and games. The Sūrtab7
                                    WIFI is a 7-inch device with a
                                    resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.</p>
                                  <p>In addition, the tablet:</p>
                                  <ul>
                                    <li>
                                      <p dir="ltr">Runs on a Dual Core
                                        Allwinner 1.2GHz processor.</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>
                                      <p dir="ltr">Comes with 512MB of
                                        RAM.</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>
                                      <p dir="ltr">Has 8GB of storage
                                        expandable to 32GB via the
                                        microSD card.</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>
                                      <p dir="ltr">Features an HDMI port
                                        and two cameras (0.3MP in front
                                        and 2MP on the back).</p>
                                    </li>
                                    <li>
                                      <p dir="ltr">Is very lightweight,
                                        weighing in at 287 g / 0.63 lbs
                                        which makes it easy for travel
                                        and transport.</p>
                                    </li>
                                  </ul>
                                  <p dir="ltr">A warranty is available,
                                    and in Haiti, tablets will be
                                    repaired at the factory. Inveno’s
                                    Sūrtab representative explains
                                    further. “The local support/warranty
                                    is huge when used in Haiti. The
                                    tablet can just be dropped off at
                                    the Sūrtab production facilities and
                                    will get repaired.”</p>
                                  <p dir="ltr"><strong>Inveneo’s Quick
                                      Thoughts</strong></p>
                                  <p dir="ltr"><strong>Pros:</strong></p>
                                  <ul>
                                    <li>Budget friendly</li>
                                    <li>A protective rubber case for
                                      harsh environments is included
                                      with tablet</li>
                                    <li>Lightweight</li>
                                    <li>Front and back camera</li>
                                    <li>SD card expansion and HDMI port</li>
                                  </ul>
                                  <p dir="ltr"><strong>Cons:</strong></p>
                                  <ul>
                                    <li>Screen can be hard to see
                                      depending on angle of view and its
                                      display is not very bright making
                                      it hard to see at times.</li>
                                    <li>Battery life is limited, 2-4
                                      hours under stress conditions.</li>
                                    <li>Has a special power port and
                                      adapter (not the common micro-USB)
                                      which may be difficult to replace
                                      if lost or stolen.</li>
                                    <li>Limited availability for the
                                      time being although surtab will be
                                      launching an online sales platform
                                      making it easy for international
                                      customers to easily purchase
                                      tablets.</li>
                                  </ul>
                                  <p dir="ltr"><strong>Since the Sūrtab7
                                      WIFI Is Cheaper, Does That Mean
                                      Lower Quality?</strong></p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">Since the Sūrtab7 WIFI is
                                    nearly half the price of its
                                    competitors, it is natural that the
                                    overall performance and hardware
                                    specifications would be lower than
                                    those of its rivals, for example:</p>
                                  <ul>
                                    <li>The battery life is poor,
                                      surviving only 2.5 hours under cpu
                                      stressed conditions.</li>
                                    <li>The display is not as sharp nor
                                      bright as other tablets in its
                                      class, and depending on what angle
                                      you view the display, it could
                                      limit visibility.</li>
                                    <li>The non-standard barrel
                                      connector power port makes it
                                      difficult to find a replacement,
                                      especially in developing
                                      countries. This means you’ll have
                                      more equipment to handle and
                                      maintain.</li>
                                    <li>The micro-usb adapter is only
                                      used to connect it directly to a
                                      computer for data transfers. In
                                      tough environments it may be more
                                      vulnerable to the elements since
                                      there are more ports/openings than
                                      are found on other tablets.</li>
                                    <li>Last but not least, the Sūrtab7
                                      WIFI is currently under limited
                                      availability as operations and
                                      distribution channel ramp up.</li>
                                  </ul>
                                  <p dir="ltr"><strong>Final Thoughts</strong></p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">Don’t get the wrong idea
                                    though, this Haitian-made tablet
                                    will give you a great overall tablet
                                    experience for a great value. It
                                    physically performs well with its
                                    lightweight design, a responsive
                                    touch screen and an included
                                    protective rubber sleeve.</p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">The system does have a
                                    HDMI slot that can be used to expand
                                    your display to an external monitor
                                    or projector (which is great for
                                    educators). An SD Card expansion
                                    slot can be really useful to expand
                                    storage space on your tablet. This
                                    feature is rarely seen on competitor
                                    devices.</p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">The dual camera
                                    capability also makes it nice to
                                    capture forward facing pictures and
                                    videos while also conducting front
                                    facing video calls.</p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">Overall the Sūrtab7 WIFI
                                    is worth its price. Since it runs
                                    the industry standard Android OS,
                                    you can have access to all the
                                    settings one is familiar with while
                                    enjoying good hardware features and
                                    expandability options.</p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">It may have some weak
                                    points in hardware, but it will more
                                    than get the job done for half the
                                    price.</p>
                                  <p dir="ltr"><strong>Where Can You Get
                                      One?</strong></p>
                                  <p dir="ltr">Currently the Sūrtab is
                                    easily available in Haiti at all
                                    Digicel outlets. However, online
                                    sales are set to begin soon so
                                    international consumers can easily
                                    purchase the tablet. For more
                                    information visit the <a href="http://ictworks.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=84e9f392a668e74df589375c7&id=d0a6c5a2ac&e=486ae1ca5b" style="color:#800000;text-decoration:underline;font-weight:normal" target="_blank">Sūrtab website</a>.<span style="color:rgb(255,255,255);font-size:10px;line-height:10px">|LIST:DESCRIPTION|*</span></p>

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