PACPAD: Innovation by Pakistan’s Military
Heard of the PACPAD? Apparently, the military, these days, is involved in more than just working to run the defense system of the country. It is also involved building tablets… or the PACPAD as they call them. According to one source, Sohail Kalim, the PAC’s sales director said, “”It’s about using spare capacity. There are 24 hours in a day, do we waste them or use them to make something? The profits go to the welfare of the people here. There are lots of auditors. They don’t let us do any hanky-panky here.” Hence the tablets that the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, PAC, hopes to mass produce soon.
The tablet has popularly been termed a “copy” of the iPad, the difference lying in the core factors that it is cheaper that the iPad. Built in collaboration with the Hong Kong firm, Innavtek, to date, the PACPAD costs US$ 200 or nearly PKR 18,000 only. Furthermore the tablet runs on the Android 2.3 OS, “features a 1GHz ARM11 processor, 256MB of RAM and comes with any one of 2, 4, 8, or even 16GB of storage space.” The device also boasts of a 7 inch capacitive TFT display with a resolution of 1080 x 720 pixels. For now, reports suggest that the PACPAD is being sold in limited quantities, but mass production, is apparently in the pipelines. The grapevine also has it that this is in fact the second generation of the PACPAD which will witness mass production… the first generation PACPAD has already been distributed in limited numbers.
The news that the country’s aviation forces are now also trying to enter the local consumer electronics market and joining in the race to produce a low-cost tablet, which, by the way, also offers a one-year local warranty, has been greeted with widely diverse reactions. We have those who have appreciated the step, those who had disapproved of it, and yet again those who have tried to explain away this unusual step by our Air Force.
Jehan Ara, head of Pakistan’s Software Houses Association, just can’t ‘figure out’ this step on the military’s part. “Even if they could sell a billion units, I can’t see the point. The air force is supposed to be protecting the air space and borders of the country,” she said. Meanwhile, trying to explain the action, at least to her own satisfaction, Ayesha Siddiqa, authoress of Military Inc. said, “The defense industry is trying to justify its presence by doing more than just produce weapons. Some smart aleck must have thought we can make some money here,” and that allegedly, is what she feels they are apparently doing.
Those ‘Chinese companies,’ as they are popularly referred to, that produce the bulk of the low-end tablets available in the country, would definitely not be too happy about the production of the PACPAD. While we do not presume to be in their confidence, a locally produced tablet, in the same price range to which they adhere, and one moreover, that is backed by the almost invincible Pakistan military, is certainly not designed to sit well with them. Not to get too excited however, since skeptics go so far as to say that “this is a vanity project that will never see mass production.”
One the other hand, however, PACPAD supporters approved of the innovation that has led PAC to design their very own tablet. For such supporters, this “foray into information technology is a boost to national pride for a country vastly overshadowed by archrival India in the high-tech field.” The PAC website however, claims that the PACPAD is meant to “strengthen the national economy through commercialization.”
For our part, whichever way the production of the PACPAD turns out, one must acknowledge the innovation and the ripe talent that is available in Pakistan. Such talent, is not restricted to the military, but is in fact available in more Pakistanis than one can imagine. This aptitude, especially the ripe talent that is available amongst the students of the country, should be recognized and aided in every way possible so that the country may produce more local consumer electronic products like the PACPAD.
PacPad Pics :
+sale+offer.jpg)
