Cable and Wireless Caribbean on Wednesday rolled out its new personal Internet communicator, a device the size of a pocket dictionary and just as light, but which will do the same job as the CPU of a computer, and is actually built as a replacement for it.

The personal communicator, which C&W has dubbed 'the Max', works hand in hand with Cable & Wireless' broadband Internet service.

Developed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the Max can be plugged in to a computer, or work by itself, since it comes with a monitor, keyboard mouse, and ADSL modem, pre-installed Microsoft software, Internet browser, e-mail media player, instant messaging, spreadsheet and has word processing capabilities.

And as Len de Barros, chief operating officer (COO) Cable & Wireless, Caribbean, explains, the device comes with four USB ports, which simply means it allows users to choose their Internet speed, whether dial-up or broadband.

Barros hopes 'to sell millions' of the device, but for now, cannot guarantee that the sale price will be as low as the US$49 ($2,989) that it retails for in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) where the launch took place.

Jamaicans may likely pay more than five times that price.
"It will more likely go for US$245 - US$250 in Jamaica because of the tax laws which don't exist in the BVI.

So the price will vary across the region, but hopefully negotiations with the Jamaican government will be favourable," said the C&W executive, who spoke with Sunday Finance after the product's launch at the British Virgin island's Bitter End Yacht Club.

Previous launches were done over the last month in Anguilla, the Cayman Islands (to which 70 MAX units were donated to assist their hurricane re-construction) and Turks and Caicos, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Jamaica and Grenada are expected to be the late joiners.
Barros explained that the combination product, which he says is about one-third the cost of traditional computers, is tailored for developing countries.

"This should allow us to bridge the digital divide amongst developed and developing countries, because the Caribbean's residential Internet penetration is only 3 per cent," said Barros. "It should be especially helpful for the schools," he said.

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS

Pepper Pot