iPhone launch could spur mobile commerce growth in Gulf

Dubai: The launch of Apple's iPhone 3G in the UAE and Saudi Arabia through Mobily by etisalat could raise interest in using the mobile internet, which could eventually boost mobile commerce, an industry expert said.

"An important thing that could limit the impact of the iPhone here is that the device does not allow users to send or read text messages in Arabic. Initial versions of the web browser on the iPhone did not render Arabic text properly either," Matthew Reed, Analyst Mobile Markets, Informa Telecoms & Media, said.

Eisa Al Haddad, etisalat's chief marketing officer, said iPhone 3G is an amazing mobile device and "we are sure that our customers are going to enjoy using iPhone 3G to make calls, send emails and surf the web even faster".

According to Matthew, the main barrier to mobile commerce taking off in the Middle East is that the cost of mobile data services tends to be quite high. In fact, the region is the second-most expensive region in the world for mobile broadband, he said.

"The average cost of a mobile broadband service in the region in the third quarter of 2008 was $55.05 a month, which is above the world average of $48.73 a month. Only in Africa were average prices higher, at $59.67 a month. That suggests that mobile broadband prices in the Middle East need to fall further if the services are to be widely adopted."