2005
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Virgin UAE gets ROKR
Virgin Megastore in the UAE is selling Motorola ROKR E1, known as the Apple iTunes phone. Trained staff will demonstrate the device, which includes surround sound quality speakers. The ROKR allows users to transfer up to 50 songs from iTunes on their Mac or PC.
Two new Palms
Palm has introduced two handhelds, the entry-level Z22 and the high-end Palm TX. The Z22 is Palm's first colour device for under $100, weighing 96g. The TX is the latest update to the Tungsten range, featuring in-built WiFi and Bluetooth, 100mb of flash memory, and a 312mhz processor.
Governments drive solutions
Spending on document and content management software in the GCC is estimated to grow 32% to $94m in 2005, according to a report by Madar Research. Government and quasi-government entities are driving the demand for content management solutions, accounting for an estimated 40% of all major software installations and upgrades in the GCC last year.
Oman bank's IBM upgrade
State-owned Oman Development Bank has engaged Gulf Business Machines to develop a five-year IT strategy to meet rising business demands. The bank's IT system is currently run on Windows 2000 servers, with an Oracle 9i database which was enhanced in-house using Oracle developer tools.
QNB card system upgrade
Qatar National Bank will upgrade its card management system to Card tech Limited's PRIME 3.0, following an agreement. The bank says its decision to upgrade is due to the system's support for EuroCard, MasterCard, and Visa enhanced functionalities, increased scalability and flexibility.
Intel Xeon processors arrive
Intel's first dual-core, hyper-threaded Intel Xeon processors for entry-level dual processor servers are now available. The new processors help to improve the performance and response time of multi-threaded server applications. It runs at 2.80 GHz with an 800 MHz system bus and 2 MB of Level 2 cache per core and will use the Intel E7520 chipset.
ME huge mobile growth
With mobile phone subscribers growing from 2bn to 3bn by 2010, around 20% of new users are expected to be from the Middle East, according to Nokia CEO Jorma Ollila. Nokia opened its new Middle East headquarters in Dubai Internet City this week. It has a presence in nine regional countries, with plans to enter more markets over the next few months.
Batelco, low-cost IP calls
Batelco has launched its 123CALL service, which enables customers to make low-cost international telephone calls to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and The Philippines. The service - which uses Voice Over Internet Protocol - offers cheaper and easier access to International Direct Dial and provides calls using Batelco's 123CALL cards via fixed, mobile, SimSim or payphones.
Emaar, Turkish mobile bid
Emaar Properties is one of 15 firms on the bid list for Telsim, Turkey's second largest mobile phone operator, reported Arabian Business. Telsim has an estimated value of $2.8bn. Analysts said the move would represent a significant break from Emaar's standard business but it was not clear if this was an investment or whether Emaar would be the operator.
Playstation Trojan warning
Symantec experts have identified the first Trojan that targets Sony Playstation Portable systems. The PSP device is protected but there are hacks available on the Web to allow users to run their own games. Trojan.PSPBrick pretends to be such a hack. The user must choose to download it. Once installed, it deletes system files and renders the machine inoperable. The Sony PSP launched in the Middle East on Sept 1.
Oman, mobile tarrif price war
Oman Mobile has slashed tarrifs during off-peak periods in response to a price cut announcement by new operator Nawras before Ramadan. Mobile subscribers in Oman said that they have been surprised by the price cuts for local mobile services since the monopoly ended.
Oman, SMS for parking fee
By the end of Ramadan residents in Muscat will be able to pay their parking fees by SMS, officials told Gulf News. Motorists can send an SMS to 90091 to register their vehicle, and a reminder will also be sent by SMS when the next payment is due.
Sony Gulf, 20% sales increase
Sony Gulf expects to generate $1.2bn in sales by the end of 2005, an increase of 20% over last year, MD Masaru Tamagawa told Gulf News. He said despite a near saturation of the market, new products and digital convergence products will drive sales. Markets in Saudi, the UAE and Iran represent 60% of sales in 40 countries in the Middle east and Africa.
Batelco, offpeak for Ramadan
Batelco is charging off-peak rates for mobile customers and charging BD1 for 100 MMS, during the holy month of Ramadan. Prepaid mobile line customers can buy a BD1 voucher from any of Batelco outlets. There is also a prize raffle draw at the end of the promotional period for customers who use roaming services on Batelco's network during Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr.
Post updates by SMS
Emirates Post has introduced SMS Post, a service that gives mail status reports over mobiles. The service applies to parcels, express mail, registered mail, money orders, Ministry of Labour documents or any other service that has a barcode or a receipt number.
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