Computer Tablet Project Is In Jeopardy: Thailand

[trimesh]

A one-year battery?

It's not as unreasonable as it sounds - the operating life of LiPo batteries (which I assume these tablets are using) is heavily dependent on how they are treated. If you constantly run the battery completely flat and leave it that way - especially in high temperature conditions - you could easily kill a perfectly good battery in less than a year.

On the other hand, a good quality battery that is generally only subjected to shallow discharges and is promptly recharged when it is deeply discharged should still retain 85-90% of it's initial capacity after 3-5 years.

The older battery technologies (like NiMH) had substantially better operating and storage lives, but also had much lower energy density.

[pimay11]

I suspect there are quite a few piggies at the trough who aren't sleeping well over this.

[yumidesign]

Amazing, they initiated this project about a year ago! How difficult can it be to purchase some tablets? I thought that the real challenge was the learning content and software on it, but it seems they are not even getting there! Might be the real reason for these delays actually, I mean what to do with them when the kids would have 'm?

i'll throw a guess into the hat. Something to do with the amount and who is or is not paying the import duty and whos pocket said duty payments are to be allocated to, there may be other issues related to pockets but sure this would be one of them. it is a bit of a window tho, imagine the goings on when the government contracts for a major procurement = the mind boggles

[Markaew]

Forget the money for a moment. They want to start the hand out of tablets to grade 1? Tablets are not indestructible. The touch surfaces are quite breakable. Half these tablets will be broken within the first year!

[Markaew]

Why signing a contract with an unreliable unknown Chinese partner? It must be about the kickbacks. If you are on a budget, turn to India. In India they know 1. More about IT 2. Indian companies do not need government approval and 3. They deliver.

Thais look up to the Chinese and look down on the Indians. If nothing else, Chinese=white skin, Indians=dark skin.

[Buchholz]

Forget the money for a moment. They want to start the hand out of tablets to grade 1? Tablets are not indestructible. The touch surfaces are quite breakable. Half these tablets will be broken within the first year!

Yes, they reneged on their promise to provide tablets to all students of all ages from vocational students on down.

Instead, they are only putting them into the hands of 6 year-olds.

Although I'm not so sure about the forget the money part... For some reason, it just got a whole lot bigger only yesterday from the "puny" 1.9 billion baht allocated for it.

China ready to sign MOU on tablet PC acquisition with Thailand

BANGKOK, 19 April 2012 (NNT) – Chinese investors have expressed their readiness to sign an MOU on tablet PC acquisition with Thailand while the investment value from this cooperation is expected to be worth no less than 67 Billion Baht.

It is expected that no less than 67 Billion Baht will be generated as a result of the signing of the MOU on tablet PC acquisition.

-- NNT 2012-04-19

Edited April 20, 2012 by Buchholz

[GentlemanJim]

Well you have to laugh! I am getting Google ads at the bottom of this page for one of these:

http://www.lightinthebox.com/transcend-android-2-2-tablet-with-7-inch-touch-screen-1ghz-wifi_p235405.html

Only $69.99 seems absolutely perfect for the job AND already in production AND a few dollars cheaper than the Chinese one.

[weka]

blaming the Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development

blaming the media

The Chinese have been seeking to make a lot of changes

The attorney-general has not yet approved the contract draft

Blaming everyone and anyone except the person responsible for this on-going lunacy

Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of toppled former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the prime ministerial candidate for the country's biggest opposition Puea Thai party, holds up a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet computer as she speaks to supporters in Bangkok June 18, 2011.

.

More false allegations from you.

A Chinese supplier has reneged on its undertaking. This isn't the first time a Chinese company has done this and it won't be the last.

It's called Chinese Business Policy.

The fact that Thailand is being cautious is nothing to squeal about.

Yeah that's how I see it too. The Chinese Company has caused these problems and the Thai Government have conducted themselves brilliantly and expertly throughout the whole process since this policy was conceived.

Not their fault the kids won't have their promised devices at the start of the school term and certainly nothing to squeal about.

[Buchholz]

Well you have to laugh! I am getting Google ads at the bottom of this page for one of these:

http://www.lightinth...fi_p235405.html

Only $69.99 seems absolutely perfect for the job AND already in production AND a few dollars cheaper than the Chinese one.

If only the ICT Minister was a member and could see that.

However, the WiFi feature of the Thaivisa-featured google advertised tablet is useless in the tens of thousands of schools that don't have it.

Someday, the 30 Billion Baht (mo' money, mo' money) Smart Thailand scheme scam will deliver on its promise of nation-wide free WiFi.

But it won't be operational anytime soon.... something it shares with the 1,000,000 tablets.

.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Buchholz

[eddie61]

Shenzhen Scope and the Shinawatra administration deserve each other, a match made under the mandate of heaven.

Sad but predictable! So predictable.

Also quite funny unless you pay taxes....

[fxe1200]

[...]

And the company wants some pre-payment , surely they can't fear not getting paid, on a major Thai-government project ? Wherever might they have got that idea from ?

[...]

Just remember, that the plane of the Crown prince of Thailand was impounded in Munich in July 2011 because of the Thai government's refusal to pay $42 million it owes to Walter Bau, Germany for the building of the Don Muang toll highway, a contract which had been signed 20 years ago.

It is also well known, that some Thai companies rather risk a court case, than paying a foreign managed company. The government acts similar: I.e. I was the only resident in our street, which was not compensated for the damage of the flooding in 2010.

I do not want to make generalizations, but I rather owe some money to a Thai, than the other way around.

[DLock]

Having done a lot of business in Shenzen, I am not surprised by the way Scope is playing the game. They threw out a low-ball quote probably not expecting to win, but when they did, they had to scramble for funding to actually scale up and build the devices.

The Thai's rushed through some basic specs and chose on price without proper testing or Customer funding, capacity or past Customers.

This all should have been done by LC and Scope would have been able to get bank funding, or Investor funding. I wouldn't trust the Chinese to meet deadlines or the Thai's to pay. LC with strict details would protect both sides.

Not all batteries are the same. The Chines batteries on these devices would probably be "poly-bag" batteries - dangerous and low quality and the charging system would probably be "slow charging" as a result. They should be Lithium Ion, but perhaps not. If they are asking for 1 year warranty on the battery, that is a red flag.

I doubt this will ever happen...but if it does, it is likely to be an unqualified disaster. Both sides are to blame...but the Thai's are way out of their depth negotiating with the Chinese.

A tablet without battery life is called a Frisbee.

[TackyToo]

blaming the Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development

blaming the media

The Chinese have been seeking to make a lot of changes

The attorney-general has not yet approved the contract draft

Blaming everyone and anyone except the person responsible for this on-going lunacy

Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of toppled former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the prime ministerial candidate for the country's biggest opposition Puea Thai party, holds up a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet computer as she speaks to supporters in Bangkok June 18, 2011.

.

Yeah it's the usual blame game again. They should have asked my grandma to do the shopping, she could even find the right fitting wallpaper for the kids room!

[KKK]

One year battery life seems fair to me.

Of more concern is; 'will replacement batteries be available for purchase within at least the next 3 years'. I'm assuming the tablets may last that long though generally I doubt it.

[whybother]

One year battery life seems fair to me.

Of more concern is; 'will replacement batteries be available for purchase within at least the next 3 years'. I'm assuming the tablets may last that long though generally I doubt it.

Batteries will be available ... at twice the cost of the tablet. How else do you expect the MPs to make any money out of this?

[belg]

ipads for everybody... loooooooooooooool

not difficult to win an estimate / offer and than changing the small prints... why not give one week on the battery life and half the price of the worthless tablet

teacher , teacher, i could not do my homework, no battery and no electricity in my wooden stick home

[animatic]

The Thai Customs want to charge import-duties, shouldn't this have been made-clear & priced-in, when the project was put out to tender ? Or did the government-to-government deal then-proposed avoid them ?

And the company wants some pre-payment , surely they can't fear not getting paid, on a major Thai-government project ? Wherever might they have got that idea from ?

Lastly these problems bode ill IMO, for the proposal to build the new high-speed freight-railway from China to Singapore, which is still currently intended to be open by 2015, and must necessarily run through Thailand for several hundred miles.

It's the damned government buying them,

they can just say 'No Duty Taxes To Be Paid on Import'.

How freakin difficult is that....?

These people can't think their way out of a wet paper bag.

Edited April 20, 2012 by animatic

[tominbkk]

I'm probably thinking too simplistically, but why didn't they do a pilot project with, say, 5,000 students? Check tablets, software, student performance, e-curriculum, teacher/student/parent reactions to impact of tablets in learning.

I know I am very naive. It is much better to throw a million tablets at every student in Thailand all at once, much more impressive!

[animatic]

I'm probably thinking too simplistically, but why didn't they do a pilot project with, say, 5,000 students? Check tablets, software, student performance, e-curriculum, teacher/student/parent reactions to impact of tablets in learning.

I know I am very naive. It is much better to throw a million tablets at every student in Thailand all at once, much more impressive!

They did with like 50 or 200 of them in HiSo schools.

But far too quietly for you to have heard.

Edited April 20, 2012 by animatic

[Ricardo]

[...]

And the company wants some pre-payment , surely they can't fear not getting paid, on a major Thai-government project ? Wherever might they have got that idea from ?

[...]

Just remember, that the plane of the Crown prince of Thailand was impounded in Munich in July 2011 because of the Thai government's refusal to pay $42 million it owes to Walter Bau, Germany for the building of the Don Muang toll highway, a contract which had been signed 20 years ago.

It is also well known, that some Thai companies rather risk a court case, than paying a foreign managed company. The government acts similar: I.e. I was the only resident in our street, which was not compensated for the damage of the flooding in 2010.

I do not want to make generalizations, but I rather owe some money to a Thai, than the other way around.

erm ... sarcasm, geddit ?

Especially with the Hopewell-project elevated-railway and the HK-Chinese construction-company, now there's a major new railway proposed, and all due for completion within a very few years.

I fully respect the Chinese government's ability to learn from experience.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Ricardo

[fxe1200]

[...]

And the company wants some pre-payment , surely they can't fear not getting paid, on a major Thai-government project ? Wherever might they have got that idea from ?

[...]

Just remember, that the plane of the Crown prince of Thailand was impounded in Munich in July 2011 because of the Thai government's refusal to pay $42 million it owes to Walter Bau, Germany for the building of the Don Muang toll highway, a contract which had been signed 20 years ago.

It is also well known, that some Thai companies rather risk a court case, than paying a foreign managed company. The government acts similar: I.e. I was the only resident in our street, which was not compensated for the damage of the flooding in 2010.

I do not want to make generalizations, but I rather owe some money to a Thai, than the other way around.

erm ... sarcasm, geddit ?

...no sarcasm, but personal comments can be interpreted as generalizations. I want to avoid this. But a grammatical error occurred, sorry for that, it should be "who" instead of "which". Writing in German is still a lot easier.

[bigbamboo]

The Thais have met their match with the Chinese when it come being unscrupulous in business!

[slapout]

I think it has been apparent from the start of this skam that those involved in Thailand do not have a clue on conductiog a tender for the manufactor/delivery from local/International companies.

There was not Techinal Tender announced/held to determine qualifications of potential bidders,

The bid opening was made in haste prior to all the details being included. shipping, duty warrenty, warrenty of expendables,delivery shedule etc. The announced computers to be purchased has changed several times, the amount /unit has also changed in budget request, and finally another government department has not even approved the contract proposed.

The whole group involved from the Thai side need to take a course on doing International business in a reputable school outside Thailand. Highschool will survice as this is taught in the more moden systems. For the finger of blame to be pointed away from themselves is only another example of how inapt they are.

They seem to be the group who needs an education and let those qualified/sincere see to the education of the students of Thailand.

[SgtPepper]

Having done business (supplying equipment/techonlogy) with both countries (government and private sector), they truly deserve each other. Both groups are probably changing their minds on specs/terms/etc, as well as payment terms.

If one group was not trying to line their pockets via kickbacks and the supplier was not trying to enlarge profit margin from the orginal agreement, a irrovokable letter of credit as a payment avenue would be issued. It will be interesting to see which side comes out second best. Probably the only gurantee is that the Thai education system/public will be dead last.

Spot on !!!! Pretty funny to think of the tea money battle going on in each side.....I am pretty sure Thailand is more surefooted when it comes to cheating western companies such as the German company that built the Don Muang expressway. Think they will find they are in a bit over their heads if they think they can cheat a Chinese company. It is a moot point however, as I am pretty sure blame will be placed upon the Chinese company, and the whole thing will fade away....

I do hope that the whole thing will eventually fade away. Providing tablets to students is an ill conceived and unworkable idea. There are so many better ways that the money could be spent on improving education here. Smaller class sizes would be a good start.

[siampolee]

The whole affair has it seems more ins and outs than a supermarket on pay day (being polite). Contracts and delivery dates along with specifications seem to be on an ever revolving agenda with no concrete objectives yet reached in many areas

I am of the opinion that even David Copperfield would be hard put to stage an illusion of this magnitude and time span.

As an aside.

Is Jeopardy one of the new red Shirt Villages, or is it some small state in this world that has discreet banking services and banking laws so as those in business are able to conceal their incoming and of course outgoing ''business payments ? ''

[MAJIC]

The Thai Customs want to charge import-duties, shouldn't this have been made-clear & priced-in, when the project was put out to tender ? Or did the government-to-government deal then-proposed avoid them ?

And the company wants some pre-payment , surely they can't fear not getting paid, on a major Thai-government project ? Wherever might they have got that idea from ?

Lastly these problems bode ill IMO, for the proposal to build the new high-speed freight-railway from China to Singapore, which is still currently intended to be open by 2015, and must necessarily run through Thailand for several hundred miles.

It's the damned government buying them,

they can just say 'No Duty Taxes To Be Paid on Import'.

How freakin difficult is that....?

These people can't think their way out of a wet paper bag.

Thai Logic! they calculated the deal was going to make them money,on their own Imports.No company would agree to that kind of loaded deal.

[GentlemanJim]

[...]

And the company wants some pre-payment , surely they can't fear not getting paid, on a major Thai-government project ? Wherever might they have got that idea from ?

[...]

Just remember, that the plane of the Crown prince of Thailand was impounded in Munich in July 2011 because of the Thai government's refusal to pay $42 million it owes to Walter Bau, Germany for the building of the Don Muang toll highway, a contract which had been signed 20 years ago.

It is also well known, that some Thai companies rather risk a court case, than paying a foreign managed company. The government acts similar: I.e. I was the only resident in our street, which was not compensated for the damage of the flooding in 2010.

I do not want to make generalizations, but I rather owe some money to a Thai, than the other way around.

erm ... sarcasm, geddit ?

...no sarcasm, but personal comments can be interpreted as generalizations. I want to avoid this. But a grammatical error occurred, sorry for that, it should be "who" instead of "which". Writing in German is still a lot easier.

No, Ricardo was saying that HE was being sarcastic, he was not saying that you were. Oh, and no need to apologise for your tiny grammatical error, most Brits and Americans on here can only speak and write in one language (and it appears some can't even do that )

[Breville]

Looks like the clowns are running this circus, maybe better if the monkeys were in charge.

[americaninbangkok]

Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of toppled former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the prime ministerial candidate for the country's biggest opposition Puea Thai party, holds up a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet computer as she speaks to supporters in Bangkok June 18, 2011.

Looking at this photo and caption, is it possible that Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development is just pissed off that YS was holding up its competitor's product?

[americaninbangkok]

More false allegations from you.

A Chinese supplier has reneged on its undertaking. This isn't the first time a Chinese company has done this and it won't be the last.

It's called Chinese Business Policy.

The fact that Thailand is being cautious is nothing to squeal about.

Please educate us on the Thai Business Policy. Maybe it goes something like this...

"Hmmm... I want a trillion of those, a billion of those and million of those.... today. I'll pay you tomorrow. [Tomorrow comes] Hmmm... I decided I didn't really want all these. But since you're not going to want to take them back, I guess I'll keep them. [Next day, in court] Well... we said we were sorry... mai pen rai same same LOL 5555 LOL smile cute take photo 2 fingers up in peace sign happy happy?"