First PDA and Pocket PC Summit in the Middle East generates keen interest in traders and end-users.

Present at the opening ceremony were a large number of top official government and corporate delegates, in addition to the numerous exhibitors, forum participants and trade visitors comprising businessmen, professionals, resellers, end-users and the general public who were curious to glimpse the latest gadgets and technologies on display.

'It is my great pride that this summit is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which expresses His Highness' support and encouragement of initiatives in the public interest and the technological future of the people,' said Mrs. Tayar.

'Today, in the face of rapid technological revolution our first summit demonstrates the new methods offered by mobile computing, its solutions and services as a way of success,' she continued.

As she concluded her speech, she took the opportunity to announce 'the decision of our Group to organize the Summit every year', considering the excellent response of the trade visitors and the delegates to the event.

The first keynote speaker, Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, CEO, Dubai Internet City, emphasized that the path to the technological future depended on how fast the people in each region adapted to working from a stationary state to an increasingly mobile environment.

Mr. Salem Khamis Al-Shair, Director e-Services, Dubai e-Government, also gave a keynote speech in which he expressed his appreciation of Mrs. Tayar's tireless efforts in promoting ICT in the Arab world. Mobile computing is only yet another factor that will hasten the comprehensive role of e-government all over the world, he observed.

Keynote speaker Mr. Abdul Rahman G. Al Mutaiwee, Director General, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, 'The great acceleration in the field of the Pocket Personal computers forces u to act fast in this vital part of technology which has its clear effect in our economic and social activities.

'The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a pioneer in all fields that touches human resources, the economy and business enterprises which explains why we along with Dubai e-Government and Dubai Internet city are interested in this important event,' he said.

'I thank Arabcom Group and HiTek Magazine for their efforts to organize this first ever Summit in the Middle East and the Gulf regions.

Speakers for the day included Mr. Christoph Schell, GM Personal System Group, who spoke on HP's Mobility Vision; Mr. Mohammed Gawdat, Regional Manager, Middle East & Africa, Microsoft Gulf, on 'Building the Next Generation Infrastructure for the Device Revolution'; 'Mr. Roger Baskerville, Director, Business Markets & Alliances Palm Europe, palmOne Europe, on 'Selling Handheld Solutions to Enterprises'; Mr. David Bellis, Business Development Manager, Captaris, on 'Understanding mobile access to business information'; Mr. Christy Lally, Business Development Manager, Oracle, on 'Mobilizing the enterprise: how enterprises can use mobile devices to lower costs, optimize revenues and maximize efficiency'; Mr. Hussein Dharsi, IT Director, ADB, on 'ADB's Mobile Computing Framework: Exploring A Modular Architecture for implementing Mobile solutions'; Mr. Tony Prince, Business Development Manager, Intel, on 'Intel XScale Architecture'; and Mr. Salah Malaeb, General Managerm, Sakhr Software, on 'Arabizing Mobiles and PDAs'.

Today's event concluded with a workshop held by Mr. Markus C. Mueller, CEO, Ubitexx, on the topic 'Palm Handheld Computer - Gadget or Professional tool?'