Jini Computer

Is there anyone out there like me who wishes that cutting edge gadgets from the USA should be available in Dubai, say a week later after launch?

Remember the iPhone 4? It was being sold months later in Dubai for ridiculous prices,  I first saw the 32GB model selling for AED 7,000! And then there’s the iPad, it took ages to reach Dubai’s shops, and like the iPhone 4, cost an arm and a leg.

I have a friend in Amman-Jordan, who was looking to buy a Samsung Galaxy S which is a on the expensive side even when compared to UK prices, when I told him about the Samsung Nexus S, the second generation “Pure Google” smart phone, he got excited and wanted one, but how, where from, and when?

If you where in Jordan, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, KSA, Lebanon, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt or any other Middle Eastern country, and wanted to purchase a Nexus S, a Galaxy Tab, an AR.Drone, or even the upcoming iPad 2, would you be prepared to buy from a dedicated online store for reasonable prices?

Please let me know your comments, because this can actually be arranged!

Amazing and ridiculous at the same time, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are banning Blackberry services for all BB users, even if bought from Etisalat, UAE’s major telecom.

But why? Many don’t seem to understand the issue, well I’ll try to explain in very simple terms. When using email, chat and browsing, typically all mobile data travels through 3G or Edge networks which the likes of Etisalat owns, since all the data is going through them, then they can snoop whenever they like on the email and messages used on the phone.

All 3G smart phones like iPhone and Blackberry would have to use this network, however the Blackberry adds another security layer on top of the normal data stream that is sent through the network, which is called the Blackberry service. It is that service that allows instant alerts on new emails and messages, but it’s the same service that the UAE and Saudi governments have tried to snoop on 3 years ago but failed, so what do they decide to do? Ban the Blackberry altogether!

This story shows that these governments, law and enforcement, do in fact snoop on our phone calls and Internet usage without our knowledge, I guess in one hand it’s good for national security but on the other hand it is a clear invasion of privacy.

To be fair, Etisalat has offered it’s customers iPhones, Samsung Galaxy S or Nokia N72, N97 as a substitutes for their Blackberry.

But what’s going to happen to all corporate users who got their BBs from their companies?

Not to mention the visitors who will be shocked to know that their phone is useless there.

Etisalat offers free iPhones to Blackberry subscribers

UAE crackdown on BlackBerry services to extend to foreign visitors