Dropped by at InfoConnect / InfoBiz 2010 at the International Fair Grounds in Mishref today hoping against all hopes that there would be something different than previous years. But again it turned out to be the same story as before. The entire exhibition is predominantly mobile phone show. With over 60% stalls selling mobile phones and rates which are around 10/15% lower than market prices, the show is good for those seeking offers on phones. Another thing that stands out is the overwhelming presence of Wataniya Telecom right from major central spot to nearly every mobile outlet as provider/partner. Zain was completely missing from the show as they conduct their own exhibition at other dates. FastTelco and KEMS were also missing.

Don’t be disappointed though as there are some decent offers from Wataniya,  QualityNet , Viva and hardware retailers. QualityNet is offering reduced prices on internet connections for both new and upgrades. The prices are really drooling as they are offering upto 50% discount on regular prices.For 256/512 KBps they are offering double bandwidth offer but only for first 3 months. I am planning to upgrade my connection to 1Mb which would cost me KD120 per year [regular prices is KD199].

Wataniya is promoting BlackBerry services and reduced plans for the same. Check them out for the unlimited plans capped at KD 13 for unlimited data. Although this doesnt include WAP data.

Viva has a fantastic offer on small Wifi Router which allows upto 5 simultaneous connections. They are offering FREE router with KD 18 per month which regularly costs KD 35 for router and KD 55 per month. Thats a huge saving of nearly 70%. The speeds advertised by Viva is 7.2 Mbps. And this includes unlimited downloads. There is similar offer on their USB device.All these are for yearly contracts.

Those seeking bargains on laptops will be taken by KD 100 offerings from MSI at KD 89 to LG at KD 109. But beware these are not your standard laptops but NetBooks. These are fantastic options for students, presentations, and housewives.

For those looking for bargains on iPhone most of the retailers are offering 3GS 32Gb at KD 269 and 16Gb at KD 239 from Alghanim to every other local vendor. Moreover now most of them are offering 1 year warranty on software and hardware, which is strange since these are unofficial devices.

One thing that will catch your attention is the new cop car Dodge Charger version right inside the InfoBiz stall. Yep you can now take a peek inside too and talk to the cops on its features (see pics below). Other stalls in InfoBiz are dominated by various minsitry branches.

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(click for larger pic)