Google’s annual Zeitgeist report shows the search trends of the millions of users who use Google everyday. Today Google released the search results for UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

While social networking sites are still up there, local interests are still some of the most obvious queries. Of course, there are a few odd one’s in there, like Saudi children being fascinated by Sponge Bob, or Egyptians looking for Forbidden Love Stories, or UAE’s subcontinental population wanting to catch up on the Cricket World Cup.

To see the worldwide results, please visit Zeitgeist 2011 after December 15th 12:00 GMT (1600 UAE time).

The Dubai Motor Show 2011 opened its doors to the public yesterday. There’s quite a lot on show this year, especially some very cool concept cars. Obviously there were some very nice car launches for the region, including the VW Scirocco R, and the Hyundai Veloster.

Then there were some oddballs here and there, like the fully remade Armored Personal Carrier version of the Toyota Land Cruiser.  On the other hand there were some insanely power cars like the Brabus CLS Rocket 800 and the Ferrari FF.

So if you want to avoid all the traffic and sea of people that will be on the show floor, you can catch the action right here with some of the highlight cars of the show. Of course, if you’re in the market to buy a new car, there’s nothing better in town than just heading to the World Trade Center convention hall and trying the cars for yourself. The Dubai Motor Show is ongoing from now till Monday 14th November. Doors will be open from 11am to 10 pm, with tickets costing AED 50.

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.

As many students enter the final year of their high school, they’re faced with the daunting task of deciding what university or college to attend for higher education. This one decision will shape the rest of your life in more ways than you can imagine. These next three or four years of your life will define your outlook on life, and will influence the way you perceive different situations in life and how you treat different people. And interesting as it to delve deeper into this train of though, I’ll bring us back on track with the topic on hand.

This being a technology website, I’ll mostly be looking at the various educational institutes around UAE that offer anything from a Bachelors in IT to different media branches of graphical design and computer animation. This article is for students who’ll be entering their university, and as such will only focus on undergraduate courses. I won’t go into detail about what each course provides, I’ve hyperlinked everything to the respective course details on the university’s website directly, so you can see what each module provides in detail.

Remember one thing, that no matter how good a university’s website looks, you cannot make a decision as big as choosing which university to go for until you’ve been there, seen their facilities, and ideally talked to the tutors of each module you’re planning to attend. Many universities offer open days, but at the time of writing this article those days are gone, and in fact a few universities have even started their courses. Still, these are early days, so changes can still be made. And with that, let’s go down the list of universities/colleges/institutes that provide IT and related courses here.

Last week Adobe held a ‘Digital Impact’ seminar where they showed off some of their tech available to firms for publishing digital content online. The focus of the seminar was actually magazine and newspaper apps on tablets, with some in-depth examples of such apps on the iPad.

Digital publications, i.e. online magazines, or ‘Folios’ as Adobe likes to call them, are actually standalone applications that can be sent out through their ‘Content Viewer’ to iPad (or BB PlayBook and Android tablets) where publications can create a multimedia rich and very interactive experience for readers. One of the examples in the seminar was Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine where cooking recipes are accompanied with videos, and with a simple click you can also email the recipe to anyone. Similarly there are infinite ways in which these mags can be  customized for a truly unique experience. In-app purchases, detailed analytics of customer reading habits, and an easy to to publish model from Adobe are just some of the features that were talked about. Another very cool benefit was the auto-update feature whereby any mistake or changes that need to be made to a published article can easily be pushed out to all customers who will simply download the update patch itself, rather than download the entire magazine again. Handy for malls who want to update new outlets being opened up.

Adobe’s InDesign is used to create the digital mags, with not a single line of code to be written. The whole magazine can be designed within InDesign CS5.5, with the ability to preview all the additions and changes that you have made to an existing project in real-time.

There are various tiers of subscription models that can be purchased through Adobe, as this service will be done through their Digital Publishing Suite. You can check out more information about Adobe InDesign and the Digital Publishing Suite on their respective links.

Acer announced the launch of their new Ultrabook laptops, a new breed of ultra-portable laptops that Intel hopes will cover the gap between regular laptops and tablets, in a market that doesn’t seem to have place for netbooks.

The Aspire S3 marks the launch of the first ultrabook in this region, with some truly mouthwatering specs and features. The 13.3″ Aspire S3 measures 1.3cm thin and weighs a mere 1.4kgs. It’ll feature a Sandy Bridge Core i3, i5 or i7 CPU, and if coupled with the optional 240GB SSD, instead of the 320GB or 500GB HDD, you can get 7 hours of battery life. Priced at AED 3,699, the Aspire S3 will be shipping out from next month onwards in the region.

Full Press Release

Acer Debuts First Ultrabook: Aspire S3

Resumes in a quick 1.5 seconds and delivers 50-day battery life via Acer Green Instant On; features large hard drive capacity; and connects to the Internet in 2.5 seconds

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Acer announces its first Ultrabook. The Acer Aspire S3 integrates the best features of notebook and mobile devices, offering users powerful performance for digital creation, in addition to ultra-fast responsiveness and interaction for content consumption, enhancing the freedom and overall computing experiences of users on the go.

Innovative Acer Green Instant On technology provides instant-resume functionality and ensures battery longevity, while Acer Instant Connect delivers faster Internet access. The Aspire S3 is encased in a thin, light metal design that’s sturdy and aerodynamic. It will be available in select regions from September.

Campbell Kan, president of Personal Computer Global Operations, Acer Inc., said, “The Aspire S3 is truly designed to meet notebook users’ needs, combining essential features of the smartphone and tablet PC, such as fast startup and Internet connectivity, with long battery life. Matched with its slim form, the Aspire S3 will provide a fresh experience and set a major milestone in the history of Acer’s notebook development.”

Ultra-long unplugged freedom via instant on and connect

Modern notebook users want to maximize their time and effort wherever they go. The Aspire S3 helps them make the most of their time via two new innovations: Acer Green Instant On, which delivers ultra-fast responsiveness, energy efficiency and enhanced power management; and Acer Instant Connect, which provides access to the Internet in just 2.5 seconds[1]^{, [2]} — four times faster than conventional connections — so users can go faster for better productivity and infotainment enjoyment. There’s no compromise.

Acer Green Instant On provides two sleep modes from which the Aspire S3 responds with surprising speed: From Sleep the Aspire S3 will resume in a mere 1.5 seconds,² and from Deep Sleep it resumes in 6 seconds.² With these energy-conscious innovations, the Aspire S3′s battery life lasts up to 50 days[3]^{, [4]} — even longer than regular mobile phone batteries! 

Ultra-slim in an aerodynamic metal design

For easy-to-carry convenience, the Aspire S3 measures 1.3 cm thin and weighs less than 1.4 kg (3 lbs.).[5] It’s also equipped with a full-size Acer FineTip chiclet keyboard, designed for comfortable use and maximum productivity. All-day usability is assured by a super-lightweight, high-density battery that delivers up to 7 hours[6] of juice. The aerodynamic design of the Aspire S3 features a strong and lightweight aluminum/magnesium alloy chassis, and a lid with a fingerprint-free metal finish that feels as smooth as silk.

The 13.3″ ultra-thin HD LED display adopts an open cell design to conserve materials by using the lid and bezel to form an aluminum frame for the screen. This creates a super-slim yet protective profile and reduces the energy required during manufacture as compared to conventional panel designs.

Innovative airflow design enhances comfort

The Aspire S3 features a vent-free bottom so the notebook rests comfortably on the user’s lap. Warm components are smartly placed away from the palmrest and touchpad area, so users won’t feel any heat discomfort. Further innovation is offered via a new airflow design that dissipates warm air from the rear of the notebook, preventing air from blowing towards the user’s hands. Finally, the fan motor is optimized to enhance efficiency and lower power consumption to help increase system battery life.

Uncompromising performance for content creation and enjoyment

The Aspire S3 features the latest 2^nd generation Intel^® Core^™ i3/i5/i7 processors for full computing and digital creation capability, and a choice of 240 GB SSD or 320/500 GB HDD with embedded SSD[7] for ultra-fast access and ample media and data storage. Packing professionally-tuned Dolby^® Home Theater^® v4, the Aspire S3 delivers vibrant, cinema-style surround sound and enhanced dialogue quality for optimum listening experiences. Standard HDMI^® output is also included for connecting the Aspire S3 to popular HD peripheral devices for high-def digital/video playback and extension. Furthermore, users can quickly and easily share data or download photos from their digital cameras using the 2-in-1 card reader that supports SD^™ Cards and MultiMediaCard^™.

On-the-go users can keep in touch with friends and colleagues with high-clarity video conferences thanks to the integrated Acer Crystal Eye 1.3 megapixel camera and microphone — with superior Wi-Fi^® connections guaranteed by Acer InviLink^™ Nplify^™ 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED^™ technology.[8] Wireless convenience is enhanced by the addition of latest-generation Bluetooth^® 4.0+HSR technology with lower power consumption.

“We are very happy to see the formal launch of the Acer Aspire S3, Acer’s first Ultrabook, and to be one of the leading time-to-market partners to place an Ultrabook in the market. The features of the Aspire S3, powered by 2^nd generation Intel^® Core^™ processors — including instant on, instant connect, long battery life, and its elegant slim and light design — will satisfy many users’ desire for a free and easy life on the go,” said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of the Intel PC Client Group.

“As the only Ultrabook with an HDD option, the Aspire S3 offers the computing power and storage needs of a notebook, along with the mobile communication advantages of the smartphone and tablet PC,” added Kan. “It’s a major breakthrough in notebook design and will surely fortify our notebook competitiveness in the ICT market.”

Priced at AED 3699, the Aspire S3 will start to roll out in the regions in October, and is expected to become Acer’s star product during the fourth quarter.

Given that UAE has only two telecom operators, the choice people have here may not seem much at first glance, especially since the TRA owns a large percentage in both these companies. However, dig a little deeper and you’ll find great value products suitable to your lifestyle.

Today I’ll be looking at mobile and broadband internet packages provided for home consumers by both Etisalat and Du. Let me get this out of the way first: I’m not looking at special offers, bonus packages and add-ons. When you get into those, especially bonus offers for mobile packages (such as extra credit on incoming calls from Du). The same goes for the TV packages in the broadband bundles; I won’t be looking at what TV channels (HD, 3D or otherwise) are available as part of the deal. All I’m looking at are the prices and basic services provided to give you guys an idea of which telecom operator provides better value for money.

I’ll start off this comparison with Mobile packages. Both telecom operators provide a huge variety of packages to suit individual needs and budgets. There are many subsidized handsets available as well, depending on data plan and special offers you choose from both Etisalat and Du which you can check out.

Before I begin though, I would like to remind everyone that Du charges local and international calls by the second, unlike Etisalat where a full minute’s rate is charged as soon as the new minute starts. Depending on how you make your calls daily, this can be a huge money saver for a lot of people. So keep that in mind.

Let’s face it, we all buy gadgets or some sort of tech item a couple of times a year. These things are expensive, and given the rate at which the industry is moving at, nobody wants to buy an outdated item. That’s the reason most of you read our site to keep up to date on the latest in tech. However, when it comes to actually buying the product you’ve decided to spend your hard earned money on, it’s not so easy.

We have no shortage of huge electronic retailers here in UAE, some may even say there’s a saturation of retailers in the market. But nothing beats a leisurely stroll down these huge store aisles and checking out the latest tech on offer at very tempting rates.

So what I’ve done over the past week is go to some of the biggest electronic stores in Dubai to check out 5 different products. My objective was not only to see how much each store is selling the product for, but also how good my experience in-store was. This, I measured in terms of staff knowledge, their willingness to help and store layout (how easy or difficult it was to navigate to various sections).

Now the five products we decided upon were to be taken from a broad range of categories, and for the most part, the latest and most popular product.

As for the stores, it was decided to go to the specific branches that were one of the biggest (so no DCC) as well as those near more popular parts of Dubai (sorry Mirdiff City Centre and Ibn Battuta Mall!).

I visited each of the above stores to first walk around and see how well the store was laid out and whether products of our 5 categories listed above were easily found. For some of the products I would ask the staff where it was if I didn’t see it after walking 2 minutes into the store. This is where I judged their attitude towards a needy customer and how helpful they were. Often times a nearby staff member would tell me about the product I was looking at themselves (after asking what exactly I was looking for), which also showed how knowledgeable (or not) they were.