The i-mate, industry innovator of end-to-end wireless device solutions with global operations headquartered at Dubai Internet City, experienced outstanding success during this year’s GITEX Dubai and GSM exhibitions. “We’ve grown immensely over the past two years, and the success seen on the i-mate stands — both in size and number of visitors — demonstrates this,” said Jim Morrison, i-mate founder and CEO. “We hope to continue our growth within the region with exhibitions such as GITEX and GSM and look forward to increased participation next year.” The first year with its own, independent stand at GITEX, i-mate fever left it constantly buzzing with people trying the newly launched i-mate devices. The i-mate met with the same success during its participation at the ninth annual GSM in the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa conference, which was held for two days during the week of GITEX. Again, with its own stand, i-mate saw a constant flow of visitors to trail the much talked about devices. At both exhibitions, i-mate showcased its new portfolio of products, namely the I-mate PDA2k, I-mate SP3, I-mate SP3i and I-mate JAM. Numerous i-mate customer support technicians were at hand to meet with visitors and help them test the new devices. With the presence on the stand from i-mate’s partners Source IT, TechData and Axiom Telecom, visitors had all of their queries answered on the sport.
Chevrolet
A new workhorse pickup truck from General Motors, which takes advantage of decades of Chevrolet auto-engineering experience to get the job done, has made debut in Saudi Arabia. “Anyone getting into the new 2005 Chevrolet LUV could easily think they are in a high-grade saloon car with its sporty dashboard, comfortable and spacious cabin and ergonomic controls,” Samer El-Khalil, market planning manager for trucks, Chevrolet, said. Accommodating on the inside, yet tough on the outside — that’s what the new 2005 Chevrolet LUV is all about. Through decades of innovation in auto-engineering, LUV delivers the kind of performance that has made Chevrolet synonymous with work trucks for more than 50 years. “Chevrolet has a rich heritage in the Middle East extending back more than five decades,” said El-Khalil. “It is famous the world over for its range of solid and dependable pick ups and the LUV is no exception. Whether it is day-to-day transport or a rugged physical task, you can depend on LUV to get the job done.” The vehicle, which is available in showrooms now comes with a regular cab and the comfortable crew cab models. Both models are equipped with power steering and a tilt-adjustable steering column while aggressively styled multi-reflector halogen headlamps with oversized lenses improve driver visibility and occupant safety. Other safety features include side door beams and a high-mount roof stop lamp. Crew cab passengers are further protected by rear center 3-point seat belts and childproof rear locks.
Hertz
Hertz Saudi Arabia has launched a special Ramadan offer giving fasters in Jeddah easy access to the Holy Mosque in Makkah for the breakfast and Taraweeh prayers. “Hertz Saudi Arabia is offering Jeddah residents and visitors a chauffeur-driven service to and from the Holy Mosque. Customers can be collected from their homes, offices or any Hertz location for the journey to Makkah, arriving in time for the Maghreb prayers,” Safir Islam, general manager of Hertz Saudi Arabia, said. “Our goal is to take the hassle out of the unique experience of breaking one’s fast and offering Taraweeh prayers at the mosque during the holy month. Our experienced chauffeurs will drop customers off near the mosque without clients having to worry about finding parking in this crowded area or walking for miles to reach the mosque,” he added. The offer starts at SR150 for an economy-type vehicle and SR200 for a medium-sized sedan. Larger vehicles including vans are also available to cater for bigger families.
Siemens
Siemens Customer Care UAE was recently awarded the best customer care department award, achieving superior levels of quality and for outperforming its counterpart Siemens customer care (SCC) departments in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Once a year, Siemens headquarters rewards its customer care departments in the Middle East, Africa, Europe region against criteria, such as repair quality, customer satisfaction, cost control and best practice application, which adds value to the customer as well as the Siemens brand. SCC Lebanon also managed to claim 5th position having fallen slightly behind Poland, Lithuania, France and the UAE. Being the regional headquarters for the Middle East and Africa, Siemens managed to secure two of its key Middle East markets within the list of top five markets recognized this year. In light of SCC UAE and Lebanon’s success, a celebration and award ceremony was held in honor of the winners, Siemens service partner for UAE, Technocare’s CEO S. Rajkumar and Siemens’ service partner in Lebanon, Kittaneh’s Manager Alen Noun. “Achieving this honor once again has confirmed the strenuous efforts exercised in the past year by the Siemens customer care department, as well as our service center partners Technocare and Kittaneh,” Asim Sukhera, vice president, Siemens, Middle East and Africa, said.
Maxima Watches
Maxima, a leading India watch brand, is now in Saudi Arabia. Since its inception in 1996, the brand quickly achieved a leading position with its innovative designs and craftsmanship. “Maxima caters for the needs of aspiring youths and executives,” Majed Al-Quraishi, managing director of Al-Sabah Trading and Contracting, member of Ali Zaid Al-Quraishi & Bros. Ltd., said. Manjot Purewal, managing partner of P.A. Industries unveiled the brand in Jeddah recently. “Never say die” is the spirit behind the success of this brand and commitment to the quality that has produced the ISO 9001-2000 award, Purewal said. The brand has more than 1,200 models in both metal and plastic with a distinguished style and appearance to suit the market’s various segments. Every Maxima watch comes with the serial number that allows tracking the quality of every single watch individually and trace back the same to the operator who made the watch. The in-house R&D department and designing facilities have enabled the brand to meet the requirements of the growing market. It makes 3.6 million watches per annum.
Hyundai
Hyundai vehicles received an A grade for consumers polled in the 2004 strategic vision total value index study released recently. In the TVI brand report card, Hyundai finished in second spot (behind Lexus) with a score of 766. In addition, Hyundai has three vehicles rated as best values in the study. The Hyundai Elantra was selected as best value in the small car category — the Hyundai XG350 (in a tie with the Acura TSX) was named best value in the mid-size car category and the Hyundai Santa Fe was once again named best value in the small SUV segment. The sporty Hyundai Tiburon coupe made the top 10 scoring list with a score of 783. “Once again, an independent study confirms that Hyundai has made huge strides,” said Hyundai Motor Co. Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Dong-Jin. “There is much more to the Hyundai story than great product value — there is great product quality and that message is resonating with more and more new car buyers,” Kim said.