High Tech Mosques and Other Techno Treats in Dubai

It's day two of my whirlwind trip to the Hometech trade show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Yesterday I marveled at the powerful way the Middle East is taking to technology. Today, I figure it's time to look at some of the things they're seeing both in their country and at the show.

The State of Dubai

Dubai is passionate about its technology initiatives, but it's certainly a more carefully controlled environment than the U.S. YouTube and iTunes access are both blocked throughout the country. So is access to Voice Over IP (VoIP). (VoIP services are blocked because the telecommunications company isn't too keen on eroding its customer base.) And, for a high tech frontier town, there's no HDTV signal available yet in Dubai, though satellite dish service is just a few days away.

Plug ‘n Pray

You know that high tech has infiltrated life when the page two story in the local paper is about high-tech mosques. They're about to introduce a mosque-wide electronic network system. The ability to log in to the site and see prayer schedules and hear the prayers, as well as the capability to download MP3 lectures from the Imam are high on the network's list. And one of the systems integrators displaying at the show is bringing IPTV versions of the prayer services for viewing on the Net.

Plug Me In

A visit to Plug-Ins, a 50,000 square foot Best Buy-like retail electronics store, gave me a taste of what's hot and what's not in Dubai. Tourists were buying SIM cards. Since international roaming charges can be expensive, it's a much better idea to buy a pre-paid roaming SIM card and use it in your mobile phone. It allows you to make calls at the local calling rate.

On the computer front, pricing at Plug-Ins Electronix was very similar to U.S. pricing. The shelves were stocked with HP, Acer, Dell, and Sony machines. The store salespeople told me that XP systems still outsell the Vista systems, though the HP Pavilion tx1000 tablets with Vista Home are moving faster than they can stock them. Interestingly, there are no desktop PCs sold in this store, just notebooks, which gives you some idea about the country's demand for portability.

The American Delegation From the Consumer Electronics Show

A handful of vendors with the pioneering spirit to explore new territories were exhibiting at the show. They included:

TeleDynamics, a wholesale display house that previewed what was arguably the hottest product in the booths—the EOS Wireless iPod Speaker System docking station. The system includes a wireless docking station, remote control, and one set of wireless speakers for $199. Additional speakers (up to four total) cost $129 and can be placed in a range of 150 feet. An inexpensive way to get multi-room wireless sound.

With summer just around the corner (never mind that it's 110° in Dubai), Sima showcased an inflatable outdoor theater, the Sima SCL-8XL Theater. You simply inflate the large spandex screen (doubles as a trampoline?) and hook up the included outdoor speakers. It sells for $1,600, but you might just make that back on movie ticket sales to friends and neighbors.

Maxsa, a small company in northern Virginia, garnered interest in its Solar Halogen Motion Light. Powered by the sun, this $80 light turns on automatically when it detects movement. It's sold through catalog and online vendors.

Monster Cable was at the show educating the Dubai audience about its quality cables. One of Monster Cable's differentiating features is the built-in filter to ensure that you get clean power (free from spikes and surges) to your HDTV. They were handing out HDTV calibration disks meant to walk you through getting the best picture possible on your TV. (These sell for $30 on the web site.) One of Monster's newest cables, the iCarPlay, lets you play your iPod over any FM radio station as it charges, but it'll search for the station with the clearest signal.

High tech is important enough to Dubai for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to make a showing, cut the opening ribbon, and tour the exhibits. Maybe some of our politicians can take a cue.