Something is missing from Apple's UAE website promoting the iPhone 4, which is due to hit shelves in the country next week. It isn't the price, or details of the data plan or contract terms - those will be announced by the mobile operators Etisalat and du in the coming days. What is missing is any mention of the iPhone 4's star feature.
FaceTime, Apple's elegant new system for making high-quality video calls, is nowhere to be seen. Sites promoting the phone in markets such as Singapore or Australia feature the service prominently, often giving it top billing. While no reason has been given for the omission of mention of the iPhone 4's high-profile feature - at its launch, one Apple executive said it "would change the way we communicate forever" - it is worth noting that when users make a FaceTime video call, all the information is transmitted over the internet. Like Skype, FaceTime uses voice over internet protocol (VoIP), a system deemed illegal by UAE telecommunications law.
One well-placed source at a UAE telecoms company said, as far as he was aware, FaceTime would be included in iPhones sold locally. But whether the service is made available, Apple's decision not to promote it here reflects a looming challenge for regulators across the world and particularly in the UAE. An increasing number of technology platforms are including with their services the ability for device owners to speak to other users. Google recently integrated a Skype-style internet calling feature directly into its Gmail e-mail system. The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) promptly announced it would block the service.
The technology website TechCrunch recently revealed a team of engineers at Facebook were developing a mobile phone operating system built around the company's social networking platform, used by more than 500 million people globally and half of all UAE internet users. Even in their ambiguous denial of the report, Facebook said it was working on "integrating deeply into existing platforms and operating systems". It is likely that before long the company will enable users to "phone" their Facebook friends directly from within the website - and not long before such a feature makes its way into Facebook's mobile offerings.
To apply policy evenly, the TRA would also need to ban this service. And with everyone from TV manufacturers to video games console makers and broadcasters looking to harness the power of their mass customer base through the internet and social networks, Facebook will not be the last. More businesses will try to connect their users and help them talk to each other through the internet. More fledgling services will probably be banned.
The convergence of multiple industries via the internet has left governments across the world scratching their heads and few regulators have managed to keep well and truly ahead of the curve. Are mobile data networks just like telephone lines? Is a website a publication just like a newspaper? Is your Facebook profile a website? Technology is moving and morphing faster than even the most fleet-footed government can keep up with, and few citizens anywhere consider government departments to be fast on their feet.
It is not surprising then that the TRA is still working out its approach to regulating services that transmit voice through the internet. But the current approach of banning services first and fine-tuning the policy later could hold back the adoption of extremely useful innovations. Remember Twitter, now used by the Abu Dhabi police force and a growing army of residents, was also banned in the UAE until 2008.
While the policy debate in the UAE centres on whether such services should be legal to use, a deeper and more complex question is being asked on a global level. As Apple, Facebook, Google and their myriad of similar companies attempt to turn vast user bases into tightly integrated communities, what is best for the consumer? For Apple, services such as FaceTime are an early step in turning the handset maker, not the mobile network, into the conduit of telecommunications. The company recently launched Ping, a social network for users of its iTunes music store that connects all iPhone owners via a new social network based on its own software and hardware.
Facebook, in turn, is trying to deeply integrate its own social network into the core of mobile phone operating systems, slowly turning users' Facebook friends lists into phone books. Google is putting its internet phone software into its web e-mail, its web e-mail into its mobile phones and its search engine into everything it can get its hands on, including TV sets and tablet computers. Each of these companies, to a greater or lesser extent, wants to lock its users into more and more in-house services and build barriers to keep competing services at bay. Apple has yet to approve Google's internet phone software for the iPhone and Facebook's integration with Apple's Ping network was quickly withdrawn after launch. New Apple computers come with a web browser that allows users, with a click of a button, to view websites stripped of all online advertisements, the bread and butter of Google's business.
With each company in full land-grab mode, consumers are experiencing an intense burst of innovation and competition. But they are also being shepherded into an increasingly walled-off series of digital playgrounds that are reluctant to acknowledge each other's existence. Finding a legal and regulatory balance that keeps this unprecedented innovation alive but restrains anti-competitive instincts is of great importance to the public.
It is hard for consumers, businesses, policymakers and leaders in the UAE to engage in this debate when much of the subject matter - the services themselves and their functionalities - remain off limits, restricted from public use. The UAE has sidestepped the culture of Skype - whose 530 million global subscribers outnumber those of Facebook - and web users in the emirate have largely learnt to live without it. But will the same be true for FaceTime, for Google Voice, for a future Facebook Phone, for the "Next Big Thing" that helps people chat over the internet while watching TV or driving to work?
tgara@thenational.ae
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
