Mazen Al-Angary, writing for MyMac.com on Thursday, was surpised by the how hard the news of the Apple iPhone hit in his country. The buzz was enormous, and the reaction was so strong in the Saudi newspapers that, "It eclipsed all the bloodshed news we have been used to reading the last half century."
While many analysts in the U.S. are skeptical about how the Apple iPhone will sell here, Mr. Al-Angary expressed no doubts about Saudi Arabia: "If Apple isnit focusing on the Middle-east market, I will try to bring the situation into focus for them. When the iPhone hits our market, it will sell-out in less then a day. I would even bet it will sell before it appears in any showroom. Already one store is getting backorders on the night the Macworld Expo keynote took place."
In some detail, Mr. Al-Angary described the climate in Saudi Arabia, how it will be an iPod phenomenon there all over again, but even easier this time. With regard to the 3G wireless technology, not originally slated for the iPhone, the observation was: "[The] GSM Association isnit excited about 3G to begin with, and they are working hard enough to brush it under the carpet and bring 4G to the market before any one can even begin to get used to 3G GSM networks."
Even though the Apple iPhone wonit be shipping, according to Apple, to Europe until 2007 4Q and Asia in 2008, Mr. Al-Angaryis view, based on his home country experience, was that there is a harsh truth for the other mobile phone manufactuters: "You donit stand a chance, you have been (and I mean all of you) outsmarted and beaten..."