All roads lead to Gitex Shopper at WTC

Expectations are running high for this year’s edition of Gitex Shopper, with droves of consumers expected to flock to the event for two reasons: one, the usual best deals possible on all latest products on offer; and, more importantly, the better and more convenient location of the event.

For years, Gitex Shopper was held at Airport Expo Dubai in Garhoud. Though it has been a success year after year in terms of sales and footfall, there were issues regarding parking space and general accessibility. So the return to the Dubai World Trade Centre — very accessible with a Metro station beside it — is indeed a welcome move for everyone.

Throw in the newest products on the market and increased consumer sentiment and interest into the mix, and there is no way to go but further up for Gitex Shopper.

“This year has been improvement over 2011 [in the industry], and this has been brought about by better consumer sentiment and improved tourist traffic,” Jacky’s Electronics chief operating officer Ashish Panjabi told Khaleej Times. While traders confide that Gitex Shopper 2012 will be better than last year, Panjabi pointed out that “it is difficult to give a definitive sales growth rate expected as we are at a new venue this year, but we expect better footfall due to improved access to the venue.”

Panjabi said that Gitex Shopper 2012 would give retailers the opportunity to reevaluate their strategies at the event, as a lot of the dynamics will change.

“We expect to see a different set of customers, different modes of transport being used and with different expectations for the event overall. We’ve literally thrown away our game plan from previous years and done everything from scratch this year.”

The event’s organiser, the Dubai World Trade Centre, expects sales this year to cross the Dh200 million mark during the eight-day IT centrepiece. This is the biggest Gitex Shopper ever, occupying 35,000sqm of space, a 25 per cent growth from last year.

Smartphones, tablets, Ultrabooks, DSLR cameras and smart TVs are expected to gain even more pace this year, thanks to new innovations from its makers. Over 120 companies will be participating in the event, including many first-timers. — alvin@khaleejtimes.com

Etisalat tests world’s highest 4G LTE speed at 300 Mbps

Etisalat has added another feather in its cap, completing the highest 4G LTE speed test in the world, reaching a lightning 300 Mbps.

Hailing it as a breakthrough for the international telecommunications industry, Saleh Al Abdooli, CEO of etisalat, said the success establishes etisalat as a global leader in mobile broadband.

“I am delighted to announce that etisalat has successfully completed the test for the highest 4G LTE speed in the world which reached 300 Mbps thanks to the latest MIMO 4x4 technology,” he said. He added that though etisalat’s existing 4G network offers speeds up to 150 Mbps, devices available in the market still don’t support the speed.

“However, the development of networks always motivates manufacturers to produce higher speeds to keep pace with evolution of these networks,” said Al Abdooli.

He said the commercial launch of the latest speed depends on the availability of devices that can handle such a speed. “Initial reports from international hardware providers indicate that these devices will be available over the next year. This speed will be a turning point for the customers in the mobile Internet experience,” Al Abdooli added.

news@khaleejtimes.com