- In The National: a update on Dubizzle, the Craigslist of the UAE. The site is booming, and doing extra well in Abu Dhabi, which is served by a depressingly low number of targeted, city-specific  websites. Attention smart entrepreneurs: start an awesome portal for Abu Dhabi, covering restaurants, gig guides, cost of living, gossip, hyperlocal news, etc. Seriously, you will print money.

- Also in The National - Facebook has its first official advertising agent for the Middle East. Props to Egypt's Connect Ads for scoring what I imagine is a pretty good deal. 

- Gulf News has two great stories today, and I mean that with none of the sarcasm that often accompanies mentions of the UAE's biggest newspaper. Etisalat is employing workers for its Ajman call centre that have no contract with the company, a situation an interior ministry official tells the paper is "an illegal practice."

- And more importantly - in fact, of an importance that cannot be understated - FLYING. ARABIC-SPEAKING. HUMANOID. ROBOT

- The Nokia N900 is a monster, but a good monster, says 360 East's Ahmad Humeid. I've yet to play with one - I think I have become persona non grata to Nokia's people here, and haven't yet met someone who owns one. But it certainly seems like an industrial strength piece of hardware.

- Saudi Arabian iPhone owners using Etisalat's Saudi subsidiary, Mobily, will soon be able to legally "tether" their phones to a laptop, turning the iPhone into a mobile broadband modem. As we have reported before, mobile broadband is a huge deal for Mobily, and it is cool to see an Etisalat business taking the space so seriously. We can only hope is seeps over into the UAE.