Trump mobile phone rebrands — no longer ‘Made in the USA', just inspired by it
WASHINGTON, June 27 — The Trump mobile phone is no longer being billed as 'Made in the USA' as it was when the idea was launched but is now being advertised as 'designed with American values in mind,' according to the Trumpmobile.com website, reported German news agency dpa.
'The T1 isn't just another smartphone — it's a bold step toward wireless independence. Designed with American values in mind, the T1 delivers top-tier performance, sleek design, and powerful features — all without the inflated price tag,' the website says.
'With American hands behind every device, we bring care, precision, and trusted quality to every detail,' the blurb continues.
Other changes have been made, with the gold-coloured phone slightly smaller at a 15.87cm (6.25 inch) diagonal, down from 17.22cm (6.78 inch) previously. Introduction is now set for later this year, and no longer September.
Scepticism has swirled around the T1 since its June unveiling, particularly over the claim that it could be produced in the US for US$499 (RM2,110) — a price many experts deemed unrealistic given the lack of domestic manufacturing capacity.
Trump has been attempting to push Apple to manufacture in the US by threatening tariffs among other measures. Tech analyst Dan Ives recently estimated that it would be years before an iPhone could be made in the US, and that it would cost more than US$3,000.
Currently, Apple products are mostly imported to the US from India rather than China, while nearly all smartphones worldwide are manufactured in Asia.
The T1 is being launched by a company called T1 Mobile LLC, which is licensing the Trump name. The phone was unveiled in Trump's signature gold, with sons Donald Jr and Eric Trump leading the announcement. — Bernama-dpa
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
42 minutes ago
- The Sun
World Bank urges aid for conflict-hit economies amid US aid cuts
THE goal of ending extreme poverty around the globe remains elusive partly due to compounding challenges faced by economies in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS) including food insecurity and weak government capacity, a report from the World Bank showed. The report released on Friday by the Washington-based lender calls on a scaling up of international support, debt relief and technical assistance at a time when the United States, the world's largest aid donor of the past decades, steps back. Extreme poverty is rising fast in economies hit by conflict and instability, according to the World Bank's first comprehensive report on FCS economies since the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 420 million people in conflict-ridden economies survive on less than $3 a day, more than the rest of the world combined, even as they are home to under 15% of the global population. The number is projected to rise to 435 million, or nearly 60% of the world's extreme poor, by 2030. 'FCS economies have become the epicenter of global poverty and food insecurity, a situation increasingly shaped by the frequency and intensity of conflict,' the World Bank report said. Economic output in FCS nations could stall or weaken further as conflict and violence have surged and intensified over the past years. The most high-intensity conflicts can shrink per capita GDP by some 20% after five years, according to the report. Conflict and war economies are home to 1 billion people and their populations average only six years of schooling, with life expectancy seven years shorter than in other developing countries. Since 2020, the per capita GDP in these economies has shrunk by an average of 1.8% per year, while it has expanded by 2.9% in other developing economies, the report said. 'Progress on poverty reduction has stalled since the mid-2010s, reflecting the compounded effects of intensifying conflict, economic fragility, and subdued growth,' it said. Targeted domestic reforms and coordinated, long-term global engagement are needed to lift those populations out of poverty, according to the World Bank. Measures need to focus on addressing root causes of conflict such as injustice and exclusion, as well as expanding access to education and healthcare, and improving infrastructure. Investment in tourism and agriculture could help create jobs for a growing working-age population. 'With sound policies and sustained global engagement, FCS economies can chart a better path toward development,' said the World Bank.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
World Bank urges aid for economies in conflict as US pushes cuts
(Reuters) -The goal of ending extreme poverty around the globe remains elusive partly due to compounding challenges faced by economies in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS) including food insecurity and weak government capacity, a report from the World Bank showed. The report released on Friday by the Washington-based lender calls on a scaling up of international support, debt relief and technical assistance at a time when the United States, the world's largest aid donor of the past decades, steps back. Extreme poverty is rising fast in economies hit by conflict and instability, according to the World Bank's first comprehensive report on FCS economies since the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 420 million people in conflict-ridden economies survive on less than $3 a day, more than the rest of the world combined, even as they are home to under 15% of the global population. The number is projected to rise to 435 million, or nearly 60% of the world's extreme poor, by 2030. "FCS economies have become the epicenter of global poverty and food insecurity, a situation increasingly shaped by the frequency and intensity of conflict," the World Bank report said. Economic output in FCS nations could stall or weaken further as conflict and violence have surged and intensified over the past years. The most high-intensity conflicts can shrink per capita GDP by some 20% after five years, according to the report. Conflict and war economies are home to 1 billion people and their populations average only six years of schooling, with life expectancy seven years shorter than in other developing countries. Since 2020, the per capita GDP in these economies has shrunk by an average of 1.8% per year, while it has expanded by 2.9% in other developing economies, the report said. 'Progress on poverty reduction has stalled since the mid-2010s, reflecting the compounded effects of intensifying conflict, economic fragility, and subdued growth,' it said. Targeted domestic reforms and coordinated, long-term global engagement are needed to lift those populations out of poverty, according to the World Bank. Measures need to focus on addressing root causes of conflict such as injustice and exclusion, as well as expanding access to education and healthcare, and improving infrastructure. Investment in tourism and agriculture could help create jobs for a growing working-age population. "With sound policies and sustained global engagement, FCS economies can chart a better path toward development," said the World Bank. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Malay Mail
2 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Cloud's dirty secret: Power-hungry AI boom burns Big Tech's green promises
WASHINGTON, June 27 — The fast-rising energy demands of Big Tech are undermining the ambitious climate pledges that Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft have all made in recent years, according to a report from the nonprofit NewClimate Institute. The research says the tech sector faces a 'climate strategy crisis' as its data centres demand ever more electricity and water to power growing fields, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. 'These companies seem to have lost their way with regard to climate strategies,' report co-author Thomas Day told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. 'The narrative has changed from 'we're fixed on the target' to 'we're really not sure, but we'll get there somehow.'' The picture is further complicated, he said, by ongoing negotiations over how to count and report future emissions. Big Tech has pledged to fight climate change and says it is striving to be sustainable in all aspects of its business. Day though points to Microsoft, which in February described its sustainability goals — made in 2020 — as a 'moonshot'. It then noted: 'We have had to acknowledge that the moon has gotten further away.' The company's electricity demand has tripled since 2020, the report found, as it invested in giant warehouses that house the computer systems which let users store photos, stream music, talk with AI chatbots and more. Microsoft declined to comment. Data hubs The proliferation of data centres has leapt in recent years. North America housed fewer than 1,500 in 2014; by this year, the United States alone had more than 5,400, according to Statista. Their average size and power usage has also jumped. The world's biggest tech firms have nearly all pledged to reach net zero by as soon as 2030, but environmental campaigners are concerned their growing reliance on data centres will bust those ambitions by consuming ever more energy and water. With AI expected to use about 12 per cent of US energy by the end of the decade, according to consultancy firm McKinsey, this could make it increasingly difficult for companies to transition from planet-heating fossil fuels to clean energy. Growing gap Based on publicly available information, the new report outlines massively increased emissions among the companies, alongside apparently minor changes in sustainability plans. Several of the plans, rather than resulting in net zero, appear to address only half of projected emissions, though NewClimate says hazy accounting makes the gap hard to pin down. While Meta's emissions have more than doubled since 2019, and Amazon's have nearly done so, Amazon's pledge to be net zero by 2040 'omits large portions of its business and remains unsubstantiated', relying on market-based solutions such as carbon credits to do the work. And while many of the companies contract out for a significant proportion of their business, using data centres they don't own, firms such as Meta and Microsoft don't tally these third-party operations in their overall emissions count. Apple and Google did not respond to requests for comment. Meta declined to comment on the report, but a spokesperson said the company reports transparently on emissions and energy consumption, and pointed to a 2024 blog on its energy approach. Amazon said the report 'mischaracterizes our data and makes inaccurate assumptions throughout — its own disclaimer even acknowledges NCI cannot guarantee its factual accuracy. 'By contrast, we have a proven, independently audited, seven-year track record of transparently delivering facts that follow global reporting standards.' It also called AI a transformative technology that is prompting energy demand to rise across industries and homes. The company listed a host of sustainability initiatives underway at Amazon, be it more efficient delivery routes, lower water use or eliminating plastic from packaging. 'We're excited about what's ahead and will continue to share our progress openly,' it said in a statement. NewClimate's report also flagged up a much broader concern, given how these companies undergird the wider digital economy, said Nick Dyer-Witheford, a professor of information and media studies at the University of Western Ontario. He pointed to the role that Big Tech firms play worldwide 'through digitally-targeted advertising, online shopping and influencer culture' which drives carbon-dioxide emissions. 'It is the role of giant digital corporations in sustaining a global regime of ceaseless production and hyper-consumption that needs attention.' AI In the United States, more than half of the 5,400 data centres operating in March ran on fossil fuels, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, a US think tank. Data centre-driven energy demand rose by 12 per cent from 2017 to 2024 and is expected to double again by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. Furthermore, within three years almost half of that demand will be for AI data centres, which will then drive how utilities and grid operators have to respond, said Anurag K. Srivastava, a computer science professor at West Virginia University. That is because AI use is expected to fluctuate quickly and at scale, depending on the time of day or even as a particular meme or digital trend rocks the Internet, Srivastava said. 'Gas is one (source of energy) that can ramp up and down quickly — you can't do that with nuclear or others,' he said. 'Solar can be done in the same way, but only if it's located there,' he said, noting that large storage batteries could help. That raises the stakes for local communities, Srivastava said, with a gas-powered system that could handle such peaks and troughs coming at a high financial and environmental cost. Whatever the ramp-up in power looks like, it will unfold at unprecedented speed, said Srivastava, adding: 'The rate of load change is probably one of the fastest we have seen.' — Thomson Reuters Foundation
