Kindle Goes International … but

Labeled as Amazon’s iPod, Oprah loves it and when I travel to the US, every other person I meet rubs a Kindle in my face …

Today, the news is out … after a lingering wait, people outside the US will have the chance to own one. Amazon cut its prices and decides to ship 100K units to international locations around the world (thats it? 100K?).

BUT … if you happen to be one of those who really really really really really want a Kindle and happen to live in the Middle East, it must suck to be you. Because Amazon is not recognizing any country in the region as worthy enough of its precious little reading toy.

Mind you, Kindle and Kindle content will be available in countries like Myanmar, Ghana and Namibia, where illiteracy rates are much higher than places like the UAE, Kuwait, Egypt and Lebanon. However, avid readers of Arabia will have to wait longer.

Some people suggested buying it in the US and using it here; thats not my point .. Also, I am not entirely sure using a Kindle on a non-US or non-Amazon-recognized service provider will allow me to download Kindle content (books, magazines and newspapers)..

I am pissed and I need to point a finger at somebody to blame..

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

090909

History is in the making today for Dubai, UAE and the Middle East.

First, we have the launch of the highly anticipated Dubai Metro. Truly a proud moment to all Emaratis in general and the Dubaians in specific. Good work guys. Live the moment, you’ve earned it.

And 2, i think its the first time ever that we get a middle eastern topic trending as No1 trend on Twitter and that is NOT related to a a plane crash, a controversial celeb visiting, a corrupt election, Israel or Iraq.

This is Dubai making the headlines and making all eyes on it.

Respect goes to the 30k fine men in blue who worked (and still working) day and night to meet their deadlines.

Must also not forget the hard work of Dubai’s twitter community who worked relentlessly to move #Dubaimetro up to become number one.

Here is to Dubai.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Air Arabia Will Fly to Goa Starting in April

Air Arabia takes off to Goa, India

03/11/2009 08:51 AM | Staff Report

Sharjah: Air Arabia, low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, announced on Tuesday that it will launch service to the Indian state of Goa beginning April 16, 2009.

Roundtrip flights will operate three times per week between Dabolim International Airport in Goa and Air Arabia’s hub in Sharjah. Upon commencing service, Air Arabia will be the only UAE-based international carrier to offer direct flights to Goa from the UAE.

They will fly to Goa on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing Sharjah at 00:25 AM and arriving at Goa at 05:05 AM. Return flights will depart Goa at 05:50 AM and arrive in Sharjah at 07:35 AM…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

David Hasselhoff’s Love of Dubai

Blogosphere: March 10, 2009

03/10/2009 10:58 AM | By Adam Flinter, Web Editor

Like all good columns, it always helps to have a celebrity endorsement or two. Movie and television, erm, egend David Hasselhoff is currently spending some time in Dubai, and felt so moved that he had to blog about it.

So, to mark this momentous occasion, this week’s blogosphere will not look into events in cyberspace. No, this week we’ll be looking at what’s happening in Hoffspace (yes, that is what he calls it). The Hoff, as he is affectionately known around the world, waxed on lyrically about Dubai in his video blog, spending quite a bit of time at Ski Dubai.

This is The Hoff unedited: “Dubai is a fun place; it’s a little bit like the Las Vegas of the Middle East because there’s always something fun to do!

“The Mall of the Emirates is huge as you can see and filled with some of the best shopping in the world, but the best part of the mall is Ski Dubai; an indoor ski slope!!!! We had such a great time here and the skiing was really good! Check it out if you’re ever in Dubai. It’s awesome!”…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Dubai hotels suffering lowest occupancy in 5 years, office space glut growing, report shows

New research shows Dubai’s hotels are emptier now than at any time in the past half decade because of a slump in visitors and an increased number of rooms.

The Jones Lang LaSalle property report Monday also shows that the supply of empty office space in the Middle East tourism and trade hub doubled to 16 percent over the past six months. That’s the highest rate on record.

The Chicago-based business consultancy estimates half of the residential and commercial projects planned for the fast-growing city-state through 2012 have been put on hold or scrapped outright…SOURCE

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

EMAAR Profits Fall Off a Cliff

Emaar Properties’ profits decline 54 per cent

02/12/2009 05:14 PM | By Suzanne Fenton, Staff Reporter

Dubai: Emaar Properties, the largest developer in the Middle East, on Thursday revealed a 54 per cent decline in profits in 2008, mainly caused by a crushing loss of Dh1.77 billion in the fourth quarter.

The company recorded Dh6.56 billion in net profits at the end of 2007 and Dh3.1 billion in net profits at the end of 2008. This resulted in an overall decline of 54 per cent.

In the final quarter of 2007, the company had a net profit of Dh1.74 billion. Net operating profits stood at Dh5.5 billion, a 15 per cent decline on the year before…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Time to jail another “adulteress”

With property prices plummeting and the boom finally bursting, it’s nice that Dubai can shift headlines away from its economic meltdown by jailing another expat for “adultery“:

A British mother faces jail in Dubai after being convicted of adultery.

Miss Pearce, 40, claims she was framed by Egyptian Ihab El-Labban so he could win custody of their children, Laith, seven and Ziad, three.

This has to be the best bit:

She was found guilty of adultery in a Dubai court last month after being denied the opportunity to represent herself.

Any woman living in the Middle East should know by now that if you marry a Muslim man, except in exceedingly rare circumstances, you lose the children in the event of divorce. It doesn’t matter why your marriage failed or whether you are Muslim yourself. Hopefully of course a marriage wouldn’t break down in the first place, or a couple would at least be mature and decent enough to work out a shared custody arrangement.

But if not and it goes to the courts, it’s the man who gets custody nearly every time. This is because the UAE applies Sharia law, generally from the Hanbali school, which it has every right to do. You do, however, as an expat, have the right not to visit there, live there, or invest there.

Comments

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Adu Dhabi Sovereign Fund Loses 400Million Dollars in Madoff Ponzi Scheme

UAE investors went on a selling spree on Sunday as news of the world’s largest sovereign fund’s exposure to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme came to light and rumours of corruption scandals hitting the real estate sector and sparking the setting up of accountability body in Abu Dhabi did the rounds in the markets.

“Why is it [the body] is being established now, such questions are being asked and people are speculating and this does not help at all,” said head of equities, ING Investment Management, Middle East, Fadi Al Said.

Real estate stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, though there were declines in financials, energy, telecom and transportation… “It has all to do with the weak market sentiments,” said Al Said. “ADIA had indirect exposure of about $400 million to Madoff, but their exposure to Citi has led to much more than $400 million loss in one day. Whenever sentiment is bad, you are ready to inflate that news more and more,” Al Said said…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Internet Service Hit By Underwater Cable Damage

Internet and telephone services that were disrupted on Friday in the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries are expected to be restored today, Egypt’s state news agency MENA said.

UAE’s telecommunications provider Etisalat, however, did not respond when asked about the restoration of services which were disrupted by submarine cable failures in the Mediterranean Sea — the second undersea cable cut incident this year. According to sources at the Mumbai-based Reliance Globalcom Ltd., the company that runs the service, three cables linking South East Asia, the Middle East and Europe are affected for reasons yet to be assessed…SOURCE

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

New Middle East Marketing news site

AdNation is a news site and ideas forum for the region’s advertising, branding, media and marketing industries. It’s a space where creative professionals in the Middle East can exchange ideas, whether it’s about innovations in brand design, creative use of media, and just mouthing off about the latest campaigns. Membership is limited to the most intelligent, articulate, opinionated and attractive people in the business. Allegedly.

Ad Nation ME seems promising (so far). Though its quite Web 2.0 friendly (video, RSS, Polls, clouds…etc), signing up for commenting, contribution and participation is only for the selected Advertising , marketing and PR socialista’s and NOT for the commoners like yours truly..

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Xbox 360 Rocks!!

Yes, I know I am a bit too late in saying this, but I finally got my hands on an Xbox 360. While the gaming console launched in 2005, in the US, it took a little over 2 years for Microsoft to bring it to the Middle East. The gaming console finally launched after a few hiccups in April this year.
We then received the 360 pack at PC Magazine’s office some time back from Microsoft. Not that we hadn’t reviewed Xbox 360 – we had reviewed the console long time back. But I was hoping that Microsoft could deliver a sample review unit for use in our PC Magazine Labs. This is because, we recently extended our Gaming section in the magazine to a whopping eight pages.

And the console finally arrived. It’s now set up at my bachelorpad, where me and my roomates spend hours battling the demons of darkness!!

Yes! We are playing “The Darkness” right now, and I agree that the graphics and audio quality is awesome. Expect a full-on review soon!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!