Phew - long day! Gitex is the biggest trade show in the whole Middle East. It is no CEBit but none the less it is big. First day of Gitex is always “fun” first there is the long queue outside the show because of extensive security. Then there is nothing to do from 10pm to 1pm becasue vistors are not allowed into the show.

Big news of the day - noticeable by their complete absence is Microsoft. Biggest trade show in the region and they are simply not there. Its usually its the biggest stand in Gitex (after Sony). I think they are skulking in their big Dubai offices hiding from the army of enraged users coming to give them grief about the flop that is Vista..؟

Google were at the show, however … for the first time ever! Albeit a small stand that seemed quite embarrassed that it did not know what it was there for. There were a few iGoogle posters and various photogenic Google employees being photographed by different sections of the media. Anyway had a chance to chat (between interviews) with their regional manager Mr. Husni Khuffash. He assured me that Google wanted to do everything to get more Arabic content on the web in the region. He then gave me his business cards (impressively printed on “100% post-consumer waste recycled paper”) and promised that he answers every single email that is sent to him. So let us put that to the test. His email address is …. Ok only joking.

Panasonic had the obligatory largest LCD television in the world. This time it has grown to a whopping 150 inches. My little iPhone camera cannot fully do justice to how big that is - but it is so big it is getting silly. I mean it wont even fit through the average palace door let alone fit in a room that is smaller than a cinema.


Quote of the day comes from my sales manager: “OK we made all the contacts we need lets not bother to turn up fo the rest of the show”. Erm I dont think so..

The day ended with the exhibitors party. One of my favourite events - they always lay on the best buffets dinner anywhere and then there are the belly dancers - we are in Arabia after all. The down side was that everybody had to sit through the “T3 Arabia Gadget Awards”. With obscure awards like “Most anticipated gadget” (what??) and “Best productivity device” it was pretty heavy going.

No sign so far of anything like an econonic slowdown here. The show is chock full of stands and lots of visitors from all over the region were milling around. The closest we got were the jokes the announcer at the Gitex party used to break the ice.. “What is the difference between a pigeon and an investment banker?” …