Apple, Microsoft and Intel to bid on 15 million unit tablet deal
Apple, Microsoft and Intel are considering making a bid for a Turkish government project that would see the winning company build and supply of up to 15 million tablets, over four years, to school children.
Turkish Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan told Anatolia news agency that the three companies are actively engaged in pursuing a bid for this government-funded project, called Fatih (Turkish for conqueror), according to Bloomberg.
Caglayan revealed that negotiations with Apple officials took place during his visit to the U.S. and noted that Apple as part of the deal would considering manufacturing various iPad and iPhone peripherals in Turkey, such as earphones and covers.
Rival companies Microsoft and Intel are also interested in the Fatih project, with Microsoft confirmed to make a visit to Turkey to learn more about this governmental initiative and Intel said to consider opening a research and development center in Turkey.
Another Turkish government official, Industry Minister Nihat Ergun, said, on July 13, that the winning company will have to build the 15 million tablets in Turkey.
Apple is known for outsourcing smartphone, tablet and computer contracts to Asian-based corporations where long-time partners like Foxconn and Pegatron are usually awarded production orders for Apple?s mobile devices. Foxconn is currently producing iPad 2 tablets and the Chinese supplier is also expected to start iOS tablet manufacturing in Brazil next month.
Turkish Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan told Anatolia news agency that the three companies are actively engaged in pursuing a bid for this government-funded project, called Fatih (Turkish for conqueror), according to Bloomberg.
Caglayan revealed that negotiations with Apple officials took place during his visit to the U.S. and noted that Apple as part of the deal would considering manufacturing various iPad and iPhone peripherals in Turkey, such as earphones and covers.
Rival companies Microsoft and Intel are also interested in the Fatih project, with Microsoft confirmed to make a visit to Turkey to learn more about this governmental initiative and Intel said to consider opening a research and development center in Turkey.
Another Turkish government official, Industry Minister Nihat Ergun, said, on July 13, that the winning company will have to build the 15 million tablets in Turkey.
Apple is known for outsourcing smartphone, tablet and computer contracts to Asian-based corporations where long-time partners like Foxconn and Pegatron are usually awarded production orders for Apple?s mobile devices. Foxconn is currently producing iPad 2 tablets and the Chinese supplier is also expected to start iOS tablet manufacturing in Brazil next month.
Comments
AI had better follow up on this story once the winning bidder is announced.
Apple- 2 succesful Tablets with worldwide Recognition and full integration with ease of Use.
Intel- The Meego Platform, which is a very nice OS and not hard to navigate around. The Problem? Intel can't build a tablet to save their lives. At least not using 3rd party OS's.
MS: Has yet to push their Tablet OS out and has no guarantees that what we see is what we are getting OR how much they will cost.
The safest bet would and most friendly would be Apple.
The most dangerous would be Intel, and MS acts as a nice buffer in between.
What sort of Intel/Microsoft tablet are they talking about? Meego or Windows 8 ?
Shouldn't the government evaluate what the best tablet choice is rather than just going with the highest bidder?
Apple, Microsoft and Intel are considering making a bid for a Turkish government project that would see the winning company build and supply of up to 15 million tablets, over four years, to school children.
Turkish Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan told Anatolia news agency that the three companies are actively engaged in pursuing a bid for this government-funded project, called Fatih (Turkish for conqueror), according to Bloomberg.
Caglayan revealed that negotiations with Apple officials took place during his visit to the U.S. and noted that Apple as part of the deal would considering manufacturing various iPad and iPhone peripherals in Turkey, such as earphones and covers.
Rival companies Microsoft and Intel are also interested in the Fatih project, with Microsoft confirmed to make a visit to Turkey to learn more about this governmental initiative and Intel said to consider opening a research and development center in Turkey.
Another Turkish government official, Industry Minister Nihat Ergun, said, on July 13, that the winning company will have to build the 15 million tablets in Turkey.
Apple is known for outsourcing smartphone, tablet and computer contracts to Asian-based corporations where long-time partners like Foxconn and Pegatron are usually awarded production orders for Apple?s mobile devices. Foxconn is currently producing iPad 2 tablets and the Chinese supplier is also expected to start iOS tablet manufacturing in Brazil next month.
This sounds insane to me. Like that stupid OLPC thing that ultimately did nothing.
Turkey is one of the poorest countries on earth despite being part of the European Union. They'd be better off spending the money shoring up education and human rights (and women's rights and gay rights), than wasting money on tablets for kids that don't have enough to eat.
MS would just wear down the tablet with its virus prone crap. And intel...I hear crickets.
They're schoolchildren. Schoolchildren. And immediately we've got huge corporations fighting to "snatch them up."
Shouldn't the government evaluate what the best tablet choice is rather than just going with the highest bidder?
Welcome to the real world
Apple isn't going to build a factory in Turkey. They'll be lucky to get an Apple store.
This sounds insane to me. Like that stupid OLPC thing that ultimately did nothing.
Turkey is one of the poorest countries on earth despite being part of the European Union. They'd be better off spending the money shoring up education and human rights (and women's rights and gay rights), than wasting money on tablets for kids that don't have enough to eat.
LOL. I agree with your conclusion, but it's based on wrong facts. Turkey isn't one of the poorest countries in the world, and it isn't part of the EU.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/tu.html
This sounds insane to me. Like that stupid OLPC thing that ultimately did nothing.
Turkey is one of the poorest countries on earth despite being part of the European Union. They'd be better off spending the money shoring up education and human rights (and women's rights and gay rights), than wasting money on tablets for kids that don't have enough to eat.
No, Turkey is not part of European Union (you could ask Greece why, short answer Cyprus), but part of Turkey is in Europe.
They're schoolchildren. Schoolchildren. And immediately we've got huge corporations fighting to "snatch them up."
Shouldn't the government evaluate what the best tablet choice is rather than just going with the highest bidder?
"Lowest bidder", not highest.
Could be a nice extra bit of business for Apple, but I'd want to get paid up front.
This sounds insane to me. Like that stupid OLPC thing that ultimately did nothing.
Turkey is one of the poorest countries on earth despite being part of the European Union. They'd be better off spending the money shoring up education and human rights (and women's rights and gay rights), than wasting money on tablets for kids that don't have enough to eat.
Well, considering that the CIA Factbook ranks Turkey #94 in GDP per capita, and they list 227 total countries, I'd say "one of the poorest countries on Earth" is stretching it a bit.
But obviously, if they could get a major manufacturing deal like 15m iPads, that would go a long way toward improving the lives of many Turks.
I hope that Apple loses the bid. It doesn't sound like a good deal and with that amount of tablets, they can't be making that much profit. It sounds like Turkey wants whichever company who wins to bend over backwards and commit to ridiculous comprises. When I think of hi-tech, Turkey doesn't immediately pop into my mind. Apple doesn't need this deal. They should concentrate on their real customers with money to spend.
CNN International often runs commercials for how tech and business friendly Turkey is
They do the same for Macedonia and Kazakhstan as well, which are equally ridiculous.