The announcement was made by the company's vice president of broadband and IP services Magnus Johansson in Montego Bay, where the telecoms firm handed over 17 of the devices to 17 schools.

"We are here today to hand it over to schools to test it," said Johansson.  "But we are planning on introducing this to the market come August 1."

Johansson refused to speak about price ahead of the roll out, but insisted the computer-like device would be affordable for its target market.

"It will be very competitive because the market that we are going after, we know what they are willing and able to pay, and we are not going to bring something that is attractive and put it in the market place at a price that is unattainable," said the telecoms executive.  "That much I can promise."

The pricing structure, he indicated, would be along the same line as current IP services.

"It is Max ADSL or a Max broadband bundle.  You pick it up, pay a small up-front fee spread over three months, and then you pay a low monthly cost for it.  Exactly like you do for broadband or dial up today," Johansson noted.

"So there is no barrier to entry.  It is not that I need to pay $30,000 to get a PC before I can be online.  So we want to create for the Jamaican market something that is easy to pick up, log it in, and it's up and running.  Everything that you need to be online is in one box at the one low monthly payment."

In addition to being virus-proof, Max, which is not a computer but offers a number of computer-derived applications and storage capacity, is equipped with a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse.

Max, with its 128 megabytes of memory and 10 gigabytes of storage on the hard drive, also has ADSL modem or ethernet connectors and pre-installed software from Microsoft.

The software includes:
.  Internet browser and e-mail;
.  Instant messaging and media player; and
.  Spread sheet and word processing applications.
  And, it allows connections for printers and speakers.

"You don't need anything more than this to be up and browsing," said Johansson.

It will take its user between five and seven minutes to get online.

The schools where the technology is being tested are: Anchovy High, Bethlehem Moravian High, Clarendon College, Denbigh Comprehensive High, Frome Technical, Gaynstead High, Glenmuir High, Guy's Hill High, Hampton High, Jamaica School for the Deaf, Liberty Hill All Age, Mannings High, Mount Alvernia High, Mount Salem Primary, Servite Primary, Teamwork High, and Tennyson Palmer Academy.

"We believe that young Jamaicans should have all the opportunities as it relates to the internet that young people in more developed countries have," said Ann Astwood, manager of C&WJ Foundation.

Online discussion: http://www.techjamaica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7246

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20050703T000000-0500_83532_OBS_LOCAL_ROLL_OUT_OF__MAX__AUGUST__.asp