Smartphones made in Boksburg coming soon
The first South African made smartphones, which will manufactured in Boksburg, are expected to hit shelves by January next year.
The smartphones and tablet computers will be designed, developed and manufactured by two independent, black-led companies, Seemahale Telecoms and, Boksburg-based, CZ Electronics.
“So many South Africans, and Africans overall, use cellphones and yet, none of them are made locally,” says Thabo Lehlokoe, Seemahale CEO.
“We have the infrastructure, resources and skills to create, produce and distribute our own technology; however, we remain recipients of other countries like China.
“We live in a knowledge-driven economy and we have the ability to compete in the telecommunication sector by producing good and affordable quality smartphones.
He explains that this was just one of the many reasons that the companies decided to venture into the project.
Lehlokoe argues that there is a huge digital divide in the country and says the project is aimed at contributing to closing the gap between the “haves” and “have nots”.
“If good quality devices can be made affordable, then more people will enjoy the benefits of being involved in the global conversation,” he says.
“Almost 60 per cent of people who have access to the Internet do so through their phones, and these phones will target individuals who have the knowledge to access the Internet, but not the equipment.”
He strongly believes the manufacturing of the phones will also contribute to the economy and also the high unemployment rate.
“I can says that to be able to manufacture 5 000 to 10 000 phones and tablets, 50 people will be employed.
“There is room for the low-level, the skilled, and for the those who have education but no training – we will offer such training,” he adds.
He adds that for every phone bought, R20 will be donated to a worthy cause, including the Nelson Mandela Hospital Fund.
The phone, which will cost about R2 500, will include a 960×540-pixel LCD capacitive-touch screen, 4GB of flash-based storage, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, a microSD slot that supports cards up to 32GB, antennae for 2G and 3G connectivity up to 21.1Mbit/s, an FM radio, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and a 2 250mAh battery.
The tablet, which has not been finalised, is expected to include a quad-core Cortex A7 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and between 4GB and 16GB of internal memory.
Screen resolution will be 1 280×800 pixels and will also include a mini HDMI port, the same pair of cameras found on the phone, a Sim slot, and an 8 600mAh battery.
Lehlokoe says he has approached the cellphone operators and they are testing two of the devices.
The device is in the process of being registered for approval by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).
