Educational tablet - Made in Thailand | Bangkok Post: learning

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Getting closer to becoming a reality, 800,000 tablets at 3,000 baht each could jumpstart Thai-language content such as ebooks and learning games.

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TECHNOLOGY & EDUCATION: Forth ready to offer 3,000-baht tablet by Suchit Leesa-nguansuk

Forth Corporation has introduced the first Thai-made educational tablet computer priced at 3,000 baht in a bid to join the government's 4-billion-baht One Tablet per Child programme.

Mr Sawat says controls on the tablet help ensure only appropriate content can be used.

The SET-listed electronic equipment manufacturer spent three months redesigning its controller board to integrate it with a base to reduce size and bring the cost down from 5,000 baht earlier, said R&D director Sawat Erbchokchai.

As well, he said, the fact that the government wants as many as 800,000 tablets means the company can achieve economies of scale to keep costs low.

"We're confident our current tablet price could easily compete with those of Chinese manufacturers, while our production capacity could serve the government's demand," he said.

The tablet programme was one of the high-profile election promises of the Pheu Thai Party. Responding to critics who said the cost would be too high, party strategists said they believed they could source cheap equipment from China.

Forth is in talks with advisers to the Education Minister and local software companies about cooperation on educational content development.

Featuring a 7-inch display and both a pen- and touch-based interface, Forth's tablets enable students to automatically receive educational content after they register their personal data and log in - without the need for downloads.

The management software enables screening of content and applications supplied to students to make sure it is appropriate. "This will facilitate primary school pupils, considered too young to download applications by themselves.

Mr Sawat said it was not easy in the past for Thai companies to make tablets, given small local demand. However, the school tablet project opens the doors to local IT and technology firms. 

"If the government promotes greater use of local content and opens more opportunity for local IT and telecom firms to participate in state bidding projects, the ultimate result will be a new ecosystem and a new momentum for the industry," he said.

Mr Sawat said that if Forth's tablets proved successful, it would attract other industries to commercially adopt the first Thai-made products. As a result, he said, both hardware makers and local application developers would benefit.

(Source: Bangkok Post, TECHNOLOGY & EDUCATION, Forth ready to offer 3,000-baht tablet, 16/09/2011, Suchit Leesa-nguansuk, link) 

Tablet Computer Vocabulary

tablet - tablet computer
tablet computer - a flat computer that looks like a book and is easy to carry and hold, the IPad was the first popular tablet computer  (See Wikipedia)

interface - same as "user interface"
user interface - the way that the user of a computer device controls the device (See Wikipedia)

pen-based interface - when a user controls a computer device by touching with a pen
touch-based interface - when a user controls a computer device by touching with the hand  (Same as "touchscreen")

touchscreen - new technology that allows devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers to be operated by touching the screen and selecting things, rather than by pressing keys and buttons with fingers (See Wikipedia)

controller board -  in computer hardware a board that "interfaces with" or connects to a "peripheral device" such as the  LED screen of the tablet computer (See Wikipedia)

base -  same as "base board"
base board - the main mother board that controls a computer (See Wikipedia)

source (noun) - the place or person something comes from or starts at, or the cause of something ต้นกำเนิด, แหล่งกำเนิด
source Y (verb) - in order to buy Y do a search for Y (looking for high quality and good price)
source cheap equipment from China - looking for cheap equipment in China (in order to buy the equipment)

scale - size (relative size)
economies of scale - "the cost advantages that a business obtains due to expansion. There are factors that cause a producer’s average cost per unit to fall as the scale of output is increased. Economies of scale is a long run concept and refers to reductions in unit cost as the size of a facility and the usage levels of other inputs increase" (See Wikipedia)
achieve economies of scale - achieve lower cost by producing more

integrate - to combine things of different types in one effective system;  bring together and combine (so it all works together as a whole) รวมเข้าด้วยกัน

content - the subject, ideas, or story that a piece of writing in a newspaper or magazine, or a radio or television programme deals with เนื้อหา,สาระ
content development - creating new content (here: for teaching young students)

educational content - books, articles, videos, pictures, even games (for teaching students their school subjects)
educational content development - the process of making "educational content" (writing an ebook, producing a video, etc)
cooperation on educational content development - working together with others to produce "educational content"

appropriate - acceptable in a given situation, suitable, fit, proper เหมาะสม
appropriate content - content that is acceptable in a given situation (here: young children, so pornography, violence and in an educational environment, perhaps games, need to be blocked)

screening - checking before accepting, checking for problems, safety, or suitability
screening of content - checking to make sure the content is appropropriate
screening of content and applications supplied to students

management software - same as "content control software"

content control software - software to control what content the user is permitted to access, "a school can apply this to students, a library to its visitors, a parent to a child's computer, prevents persons from viewing content which the computer's owner or other authorities may consider objectionable, "Some content-control software includes time control functions that empowers parents to set the amount of time that child may spend accessing the Internet or playing games or other computer activities," also called  or "web filtering software" (See Wikipedia)

register - have name put on an official list (and receive permission to do something like vote or marry) ลงทะเบียน ขึ้นทะเบียน (ขอใบอนุญาต)
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล

personal data - information about a person, such as: name, age, school, grade in school, class, teacher, etc
register personal data - add information to the official database or list kept on the computer

log in - enter a computer system (by giving: 1. user name; and 2. password)
downloads - copying content from a website on the internet to your own computer

automatically receive educational content after they register their personal data and log in

local - in this country (here: Thailand)
local software companies - Thai software companies
demand - the amount of a good or product that people, businesses and the government needs and wants to buy 
local demand - demand in Thailand
local content - content made in Thailand
local application developers - Thai companies producing ebooks, videos, magazines, newspapers, etc

commercially adopt a product - when a business starts using a product (that must be of high quality and function well)
commercially adopt the first Thai-made products - when businesses start using the first product made in Thailand (instead of importing the product)

attract other industries to commercially adopt the first Thai-made products

in a bid to - an attempt to do something ความพยายาม
ensure - to make certain that something happens or is done รับรอง ให้ความมั่นใจ ให้การยืนยัน

SET-listed - stock shares of the company are publicly traded on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)
spent - used ใช้ไป

confident - being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future มั่นใจ

current - of the present time, now ปัจจุบัน
current tablet price - the price of a tablet computer now

production capacity - the amount of something that can be produced ความสามารถในการ (ผลิต)

demand - the need and desire to buy goods and services by households, businesses and government
government's demand - the amount of a good or product that the government wants to buy

high-profile - very well-known and visible (many people interested and watching to see what will happen)
election - the process of choosing a person or a group of person for a position, especially by voting elect (v) electoral (adj) synonym: the polls การเลือกตั้ง
high-profile election promises - election promises that a lot of people know about (and are watching to see what happens)

critics - people who look for and point out problems in a project or idea นักวิจารณ์
responding to critics - after someone claims that something will be a problem, show that will not be a problem (or at least not a big problem), debate with critics

strategy - a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked. How a battle is fought is a matter of tactics: the terms and conditions that it is fought on and whether it should be fought at all is a matter of strategy ยุทธวิธี, ยุทธศาสตร์ (See Wikipedia)

strategist - a person who plans the strategy for a company, organization, government, army, etc  
party strategists - the people who plan the strategy for a political party (such as Pheu Thai)

talks - negotiations, formal discussions of problems between different sides in order to solve the problem
X in talks with Y - side X discussing problems with side Y in order to reach an agreement

advisers - experts who tell managers and decisionmakers what they should do a budget of 11.5 million yen to support advisers

cooperation - working together to achieve a result that will benefit all sides ความร่วมมือ, การทำงานร่วมกัน

enable - to make someone able to do something, or to make something possible ทำให้เป็นไปได้
automatically - when something happens (without a person having to do anything to make it happen)

facilitate - help, make it easier for people to do something (to achieve goals) ทำให้ง่าย ทำให้สะดวกขึ้น
primary school - the first level of school that students start atetnding around age 6
pupils - students

opportunity - a situation when it is possible to do something that you want to do (See glossary)

telecom - telecommunications, dealing with internet, telephones, broadcasting, etc. การโทรคมนาคม หมายถึง การสื่อสารทางไกลโดยใช้โทรศัพท์ เคเบิล โทรทัศน์ วิทยุและโทรเลข

participate - to take part in or become involved in an activity มีส่วน
state - government รัฐ
bidding - making an offer in an auction (here trying to offer to do project for lowest cost and thus win contract)

participate in state bidding projects - make competitive bids to supply the government with the large amounts of equipment it needs to purchase

ultimate - the final result after a long series of events
ultimate result - the final result (what happens at the end of a long process)

ecosystem - 1. a new business environment with new business relationships and ways of operating; 2. all the plants and animals that live in an area together with all the relationships that exist between them and their environment

momentum - forward movement that cannot be stopped easily 
new momentum for the industry - when the industry starts developing and making progress and money with new products

new ecosystem and a new momentum for the industry

attract - to cause someone to be interested in something ดึงดูดความสนใจ
adopt - to accept or to start using something new นำมาใช้

benefit - to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์

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