Following the lead of neighbours Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon’s government is reconsidering its own stance on BlackBerry devices amid regional privacy concerns. The Lebanese Telecoms Regulatory Authority is planning talks with RIM regarding its worries. [New York Times]
RIM’s CEO Mike Lazaridis spoke out ahead of tomorrow’s banning of BlackBerry services in Saudi Arabia, coolly pointing out that “everything on the internet is encrypted. This is not a BlackBerry-only issue.” [WSJ]
Bad luck to those in Saudi Arabia who were planning on getting full use from the new BlackBerry Torch – they’ve hopped, skipped and jumped their way to the front of the BlackBerry data services ban, ruining BBMers’ lives from this Friday.
If you’ve got a business trip to Dubai planned any time after October 11, you might want to start making alternative mobile arrangements. The UAE has confirmed that their BlackBerry ban applies to foreigners as well.
Have BlackBerry, will travel? Sure, go to town, vagabonds, just don’t attempt to do so in the UAE come this October. The telecommunications regulatory body there has banned all BlackBerrys and BlackBerry services. Updated.
Following Bahrain and India’s threats of legal action against RIM earlier this year, the United Arab Emirates is claiming BlackBerry phones are a threat to national security due to the fact that all of the data is stored overseas, thus making it more difficult for the UAE to spy on its citizens’ communication – or monitor worrying mentions of national security. [Yahoo]
In these financially uncertain times it’s not surprising people are turning to gold instead of cash, but I’d like to know how many 7-11s actually accept 27-carat gold bars these days?
The Times‘ Bits blog has an interesting little item on how the iPad is already making its way around the globe, courtesy of gadget travel agency eBay. Here are the countries who are paying top dollar.
How scary is this? A BlackBerry upgrade sent out by the service provider Etisalat in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is actually spyware.
