You can't officially get Apple's latest iPhone, the 3GS, in the UAE until August, but if you can't quell your patience, some local retailers are offering the device at a steep premium.

Working on a tip from a previous Beep Beep blog post and a Emirates Mac message board thread, it turns out that Dubai retailer Tarsam Trading offers the 16 GB version of the iPhone 3GS for a whopping Dh5,500 and the 32GB version for an equally eye-popping Dh6,600. Both phone models are said to be "factory unlocked", and come with the store's one-year warrenty as well as an iPod speaker set.

Some thoughts on this lofty price tag after the jump.

As the world watches the ongoing political turmoil in Iran through the lens of Twitter (see my analysis piece here and other National coverage here and here), it is interesting to find out how exactly the popular communication tool is being used in the country.

Statistics and an explanation to what that funky graphic is after the jump.

You heard it here first - the new iPhone model Apple unveiled today, the so-so named 'iPhone 3GS' is coming to the UAE this August. Yay!

While Apple - nor the region's telecoms Etisalat or du - have a specific date in mind, it's good to know the UAE is getting the device the same time as about 30 other countries including India, Russia and Egypt, other areas such as Hong Kong and Italy will get their earlier (in Italy's case it will be June 19, the day the new iPhone is available in the US and UK).

Why is that important? Well, Hong Kong and Italy were some of the lucky countries which received their iPhones unlocked and eventually trickled their way onto the UAE grey market. In fact, most of the iPhones bought in the UAE prior to Etisalat's February launch originated in Italy. Will there be a similar grey market over the iPhone 3GS this summer? We can only wait and see...

As for the new iPhone's features, there wasn't much of a surprise: faster processor, more storage capacity, faster internet speeds, video recording, a 3 megapixel camera, a digital compass, better battery life, Nike+ internal support, etc. Expect the 3G model to be get a significant price cut and the new 3GS model to cost more than your monthly rent.

First the facts - Unless 99% of the world's tech journalists and analysts are completely wrong, we will all be greeted with a new iPhone device when Apple hosts its Worldwide Developers Conference tomorrow.

The device, rumoured to be called the iPhone "Pro" or "Video", is said to be an upgrade of sorts from the most current iPhone, the 3G. Aside from improved memory capacity (up to 32 gigabytes), processing speed, a new operating system which will allow user to do all sorts of nifty things, video recording, there'll be a much-speculated frontal camera that will likely usher in a new form of personal communication to the masses. Think something like Seesmic but better. 

Of course, the question that will be on OUR lips is when will the device reach the UAE? My thoughts after the jump.

Mobile phone launches come and go, but with Nokia trying to elbow itself into the lucrative smartphone market with its flagship N97 device, every little bit of incentive helps.

At the press conference for the N97 here in Dubai, the Finnish handset giant's announced the "bil3arabi" competition to the Arabic mobile world. Nokia said it would award $100,000 to a software developer who creates the best Arabic-language mobile application for its Ovi Store. Second place gets $25,000 while a slew of also-rans will get special recognition by Nokia.

Even though the announcement is another positive sign for the regional tech community and will certainly help drive Nokia's growth in the region, it is tough to say whether or not it will sway enough movement among local developers to stop coding mobile apps for Apple or Research In Motion. More thoughts after the jump.

Microsoft's much-vaunted Bing search engine just went live today and the reviews are in: it's a hit.

The US software giant is making no qualms about the need to make headway into the search business, one which is dominated by Google. Indeed, Google's ability to capture the search market appears close to insurmountable, with anywhere from a 60 per cent to 80 per cent market share, depending on what data you use.

Its need to make a splash was slowed considerably by last year's efforts in purchasing Yahoo, another beleaguered Web company, whose prospects seem to have been improved followed the appointment of new CEO Carol Bartz.

But credit has to be given to Microsoft for its continued efforts at innovating within the space. Bing is a sleek, fast-powered search tool that upon first glance, yields more interesting results than its counterparts. It also has tapped into the Twitter search goldmine of real-time trend tracking with "popular searches" (You can also change your locale here to view local results in Arabian countries, although the service is not as robust as the US version)

More thoughts on Bing and what results it shows when searching for "Dubai" after the jump.