Move over iTunes, which is not even available here. Dubai telecom du has launched its own Music Store, which, for all intents and purposes, is exclusive to its subscribers.

The Music Store consists of over 15,000 songs from across a wide range of categories including Arabic, Hindi, Tagalog and Western.

The songs will be DRM-free, meaning the downloaded song can be shared and transferred between multiple devices.

To subscribe, users can SMS ‘Music’ to 1234. Users can download 5 songs for AED 1 per day. They can also top up their subscription “by paying a nominal fee” and get access to 5 more songs download.

The store can be accessed by visiting http://musicstore.ae. The site only works on mobile devices, excluding the iPhone which it says it cannot support due to them being “designed to allow for music downloads only from the Apple iTunes store”.

At first, there was 050. Then came 055. We were then given 056 for a more varied choice. Prepare for 052 now that du has announced that they’re launching the new prefix code numbers in the first quarter of 2012.

du will launch a new mobile prefix (052) with the digital hierarchy (9), during the first quarter of 2012. The new prefix code number (052) was granted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). The addition of the (0529) series will open up one million extra lines to du’s new mobile customers.

“We would like to thank the TRA for granting us the new prefix code number, which is an essential addition for us to face the increasing demand on du’s mobile services. With the addition of (0529), we can continue to expand our active customer base that reached over five million mobile subscriptions,” said Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du. “This will add approximately one million new lines, which will support customers’ demand for about six months based our observation of buying trends over the past months. This comes as a result of the high demand on our attractive mobile offers and services which consumed 80% of the existing prefix 055”.

More digital hierarchies under the (052) access code will be opened in the future as need calls to continue to cater to the ever-increasing demand for du’s value for money mobile services.

This means, customers can get the benefits of du’s Elite Super 100 Plan, with 100 free national minutes, 100 free international minutes, 100 free SMS, up to 100% bonus on international calls and Unlimited national BlackBerry service!

“It is our objective to constantly surprise our customers – both new and existing – with incredible offers that add even more value to their communications,” commented Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du. “BlackBerry with Elite Super or Emirati Plans is an exciting package that combines the existing benefits of our popular Elite Super Plans with the added bonus of a reduced BlackBerry Service charge, allowing BlackBerry users to stay connected to anyone, anywhere, for a cost that’s bound to bring a smile to their face.”

New BlackBerry customers can subscribe to the service with any Elite Super Plan (100, 250, 500 and 750) or Emirati plan (100, 250, 500) to start enjoying the new promotion of just AED55 for BlackBerry services per month. Signing up couldn’t be easier, with so many channels available – simply visit any du Shop, authorised dealer to subscribe to an Elite Super or Emirati Plan.

All customers with an existing Elite Plan can upgrade to an Elite Super Plan by calling 155 and choosing option 7. This option allows upgrades to Elite Super Plan 100, 250 or 500; subscriptions to Elite Super Plan 750 can be done through any du Shop on presentation of a valid Platinum credit card, issued by UAE institutions or any other card by signing to auto-payment. To upgrade to Emirati plan, UAE nationals existing customers can simply call 155.

BlackBerry® customers with Elite Super or Emirati Plan, will start enjoying the new tariff at the beginning of their next bill cycle.

To activate the BlackBerry service, simply customers can simply SMS “bb “ to 1355

Etisalat has finally come out with data plan prices and handset prices for the eagerly anticipated iPhone 4S.

The basic gist is that any iPhone 4S purchased from Etisalat will get free 500MB data for the first three months, after which the data plan can be had for AED 50 per month. The iPhone 4S will sell for AED 2,749 for 16GB, AED 3,149 for 32GB and AED 3,549 for 64 GB devices. No word yet on whether both black and white will be sold at launch, but given the launch of both models in other countries we believe that the white iPhone 4S will also be available in UAE.

Full Press Release

The new iPhone 4S available for pre-order in the UAE

10 December, Abu Dhabi, UAE – Etisalat today announced that the highly-anticipated iPhone 4S is now available for pre-order from Etisalat’s ‘MORE’ rewards website www.etisalat.ae/more. Etisalat offers prepaid-package options on all three new iPhone 4S devices – 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. In addition, customers will receive free 500MB data per month for the first three months. From the fourth month onward, the data will be available for as low as AED50.

iPhone 4S supports twice the download speed with HSDPA of up to 14.4 Mbps. Etisalat’s iPhone 4S customers will enjoy the Etisalat HSPA+ network and the widest 3G network covering over 99% of the country’s populated area. It will enhance their experience while using the applications on iPhone 4S device anywhere in the country.

iPhone 4S, the most amazing iPhone yet, is packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri(TM), an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. With the launch of iPhone 4S also comes the launch of iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features; and iCloud(R), a breakthrough set of free cloud services that work with your iPhone, iPad(R), iPod touch(R), Mac(R) or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.

iPhone 4S has the same beautifully thin glass and stainless steel design and is first phone to intelligently switch between two antennas to send and receive. Apple’s dual-core A5 chip delivers up to twice the processing power and up to seven times faster graphics than iPhone 4, all while maintaining incredible battery life–now up to 8 hours of 3G talk time.

From today, customers can pre-book the iPhone 4S using their credit card by logging on to Etisalat’s ‘MORE’ rewards website ‘www.etisalat.ae/more’. The new iPhone 4S is priced at AED 2,749 for 16GB, AED 3,149 for 32GB and AED 3,549 for 64 GB devices. In addition to the free 500MB data offer for first three months, customers purchasing the device at an extra charge of AED150 will also receive 10,000 ‘MORE’ reward points, equivalent to AED 100 talk time, a car charger and phone case. Customers will enjoy free shipping & delivery to their own location at their own convenience. The iPhone 4S postpaid packages will be available at the official commercial launch during December 2011.

Everyone has been anticipating the UAE release of the iPhone 4S through official channels while the grey market ones have been relishing in the inflated prices they can demand during that period. That should go on no more, as Etisalat has now announced that they will release the hot new Apple phone on 16th of December.

Etisalat announced this on Twitter through their official page:

Dear customers: you’ve been requesting the iPhone 4S, Etisalat is happy to announce we’re launching it on December 16th. Details to follow.

But those who wish to buy it through Apple’s newly opened store in UAE itself can also do so on the same exact date looking at this message from the store today:

And predictably, here’s Du’s announcement to round it off:

It’s taken a while but the release is much faster than some of the previous versions of the iPhone which took criminally long to release here.

Are you looking forward to buying the iPhone 4S officially or have you already got yours?

The Etisalat booth is showcasing a whole lot of new tech at GITEX 2011, and one of the things that caught our eye was the On Web service. Basically On Web is a collection of channels in which Etisalat provides customized content relevant to this region. One only needs an Smart TV or an LG Smart TV Upgrader, regardless of whether you have an Etisalat or Du connection.

It’s not very often that we talk about technology in the health care sector- it certainly deserves a lot more attention, especially in remote areas where neither technology nor the health system is as advanced as in cities. Thus, it was quite incredible and interesting to see du stepping up and showing what technology is capable of by bringing healthcare services to remote areas over their 3G connection. Dr. Mansoor took us through the process of remotely connecting qualified nurses with patients that could be in any part of the country.

During our visit to the Etisalat stand at this year’s GITEX, we get a full demonstration of their recently launched ePLus service for mobile smartphones.

The ePlus service seems like a an all-in-one app where users can connect to each other via in-app purchases, make app purchases within the app (I hope I’m not losing you!), pay bills, and a lot more. Just have a look and see for yourself.

GITEX 2011 starts next week, well the Consumer Shopper expo begins this Saturday, 8th October onwards, but today I’ll be focusing on the Technology Week, which goes on from Sunday, 9th October to Thursday, 13th October. The Technology Week exhibition will be held, as always, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, right next to DWTC. The Technology Week exhibition is only open for trade and business, with the regular public being catered to at the GITEX Shopper at the Dubai Airport Expo.

The opening hours for Technology Week as as follows:

- 9 October: 1pm – 7pm
- 10 to 12 October: 11am – 7pm
- 13 October: 11am – 5pm

Tickets for the Technology Week are a bit pricier than the Shopper Expo, going for AED 70 for a daily ticket or AED 130 for a 5 day ticket.

During the Technology Week we’re expecting to see the launch of many new products in the region. While most of them will be unveiled on the first day itself, some may be launching with planned events in the next day. For now though, these are the products we have confirmed launches of:

1. Nokia – Regional Launch of N9
2. Microsoft – Office 365 & System Centre 2012 & Azure
3. ICANN – gLTD
4. Symantec – Endpoint Protection 12 (Cloud Security)
5. Ministry of Foreign Affairs – iphone & ipad apps for services
6. Dubai eGov – mobile apps for services
7. Ministry of Public Works – Launch of new public interaction services on web
8. Cyberoam – NetGenie – sms network security system
9. Forefront – Blu-Ray archieve library solutions
10. Panasonic – Solar Powered IP CCTV
11. Laserfische – Lasherfische Mobile content management system
12. Kodak – i5800 production scanner, IBML Image Trac 5 scanner, Capture Pro (Arabic Interface)
13. BlueCoat – WAN optimisation solutions, Cloud based web security
14. MSI – GT80 gaming laptop
15. RIM (Blackberry) – Bold 9900
16. Monster – Turbine Pro In-Ear Speakers
17. Touchmate – Tablet PC, 3 Sim Mobile Phone
18. Intex – Mobile Phone for visually impared
19. Ford – 2012 Explorer, Inflatable 2nd row seatbelt technology

And now, let’s move onto the events.

A friend of mine wants to finally catch up with the 21^st century and buy a smartphone. He seems really interested in Blackberry because most of his colleagues use it, but he asked for my advice just in case.

At first I thought I’d tell him to just go with a Blackberry since the handsets are relatively cheap, and most of the people he wants to interact with will be using BBM anyways, so might as well roll with the crowd. However, if you look at the situation from an outside perspective, you’ll notice things you hadn’t before. For instance, he can get the basic BB plan from Etisalat starting from AED 49 per month, which gives him unlimited access to social services, including BBM; no internet access, though. Alternatively he can pay AED 29 per month and get 100MB data which gives him access to everything on a smartphone: emails, internet browsing, social services, etc.

Take it up a notch, and you have Etisalat’s AED 99 per month package for BlackBerry which gives you access to all the BB services up to 200MB, but for the same amount you can get 1GB of data on any other smartphone. Suddenly the BlackBerry doesn’t seem so attractive anymore.

Mind you all of the above charges are only for data plans, when you want to include talk time and SMS, you can go with the regular prepaid route, or get Du’s Elite 100 plan which also costs AED 100, but gives you 100 minutes talk time and 55 SMS national & international plus 100MB of data.

I’m not going to deny the charm of a physical keyboard, and the recent BlackBerry’s certainly seem to have some of the best keyboards in the industry. So why else go for a BlackBerry? There are a LOT of apps on Apple, Android and Windows marketplace. And if you really want a good quality gaming experience, the BlackBerry certainly can’t offer you that.

So unless you really, really like typing, I wouldn’t suggest a BlackBerry right now. To use a smartphone to its full potential, I’d suggest my friend, and anyone else for that matter, to go with Apple, Android or Windows Phone 7 based handsets, because they simply offer much, much more. Also, they’re more economical in the long run. Damn, no wonder BlackBerry’s in so much financial trouble.