The Apple iPhone has been causing waves long enough in North America and the most users have found a workaround, hack or just a usuable alternative to get a hold of this magnificient device and start using it...even in the Middle East! Dubai is already flooded with a plethora of "distributors" - each who claims a working hack, spew of add-ons and the best deal you'd get in your life :) (Read the post and comments here for a preview of the frenzy!). How about buying and using an iPhone in Bahrain however? Though the official launch of the iPhone in most countries worldwide is still a few months away (mainly due to bundling and distribution issues with the local Telecom providers) the iPhone is already being sold and brought into the country and used with the hacks now easily available online. And while the phone has its drawbacks for advanced users, the beauty of the interface and the feel make it worth all the trouble! How has YOUR experience been with the Apple iPhone? Did you buy in Bahrain? What issues did you face with local distributors and making it work with Batelco / MTC Vodafone? [Read More!]

BATELCO (The National Telecommunications Company of Bahrain) has launched a new, first-time video mail service in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This is part of their 3.5G portfolio that promises the fastest broadband services to mobile users in the country:

Batelco’s 3.5G ‘portfolio’ includes mobile broadband, video calling and a new mobile portal with a wide range of exciting content targeting all segments in Bahrain. To use the exciting new services, customers need to subscribe to Batelco’s O services and register for video mail. Each customer will be assigned a video mailbox. The cost for registration is only BD1 and video mail forwarding is free of charge.

tags: batelco, voicemail, video-mail, video, broadband, mobile, telecom, 3.5g, mobile-broadband, bahrain, manama, kingdom, video-mailbox

The Qatar–Bahrain Friendship Bridge is a long-discussed bridge that is to be constructed between the two Gulf states of Qatar and Bahrain.

The link will be about 45 kilometers (28 mi) long. The beginning of the causeway in Qatar will be located at Ras Ashairij area, five kilometers South of the city of Al Zubara, and a similar spot will be located North of Askar village in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The link is expected to consist of a number of bridges combined with roads constructed on dams and will be a natural extension of the King Fahd Causeway that connects Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, thus linking the entire region.
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A complete visual and descriptive summary by Gulf News of the achievements in the Kingdom of Bahrain, marking the Bahrain National Day celebrations. Download or read the full supplement here: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/2007tribute.asp
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Monday night was the coldest Bahrain has been in 31 years as the minimum temperature dipped to 6¼C in Awali and Sakhir, according to Civil Aviation Affairs. "The temperature at the airport was, however, 8¼C - the same as on Sunday night," a spokesman said yesterday. He said the last time temperature dropped to 6¼C in Awali was in January 1977. News Source


tags: bahrain, chill, weather, manama, kingdom, coldest, 31-years

US President George W. Bush can expect a royal welcome on Saturday from Bahrain's ruling dynasty and a loyal one from US sailors in the Gulf state but the Shiite majority are less impressed. Bush visits Bahrain after a stop on Friday in Kuwait as part of a Gulf tour aimed at mobilising Sunni Arab monarchies against Shiite Iran, arch-foe of Washington's main Middle East ally, Israel. He will be the first US president to visit the tiny archipelago -- a "major non-NATO ally" of Washington and home to the US Fifth Fleet, whose warships were involved in a standoff with the Iranian navy last Sunday. [Read More!]