Mobile in the Middle East

Been here in Dubai for 5 days now.
Love the fact that to dial a mobile from my mobile, since it's only a seven digit number, rather than the 10 digit monstrosities which we use in India.
Hate the fact that they block sites like Flickr and Orkut, my fav hangouts, since they say:


We apologize the site you are attempting to visit has been blocked due to its content being inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the United Arab Emirates.
If you think this site should not be blocked, please visit the Feedback Form available on our website.

I tried the feedback link, but they ask for registration! I mean, Come On! If I have a problem with a service, why would I want to register?

The worst thing which I see as a fallout, is that they nip the Web 2.0 revolution before it can even begin!

I could be wrong
;-)

Start from the People.. then the Phone

Was at a TI Developers Conference.
These guys from Bang brought out some interesting points about how they created a phone design by looking at a target segment(55+ housewife type and 16-22 type)... and preferred to leave the technologies to the technologists!
hmm..
Leaves you wondering..
Points about the 55+ segment:

1. They actually feel that they don't need a mobile, since they have a landline.
2. They find the mobile phone too small, too complicated, and can't figure out where the mic and speaker are.
3. They like the video phone option because they can then see their children, and grandchildren who are far away.

Opinion:

A combination of DECT and cellular would work out great. They could then ping their phone from the base unit when they misplace it.