It may be considered either a techno junky’s fantasy or nightmare — depending on the perspective. Gitex Shopper opened with more than 4,000 products offered by 140 exhibitors from 15 countries in double the exhibition space as last year. Trying to decide what to take home left many people in a tizzy.

“I just don’t know what to buy,” said Latifa Abdullah, a student in Dubai. “If I get a laptop I won’t have enough cash left for a camera and I really want a new MP3 player, too. What am I going to do?”

The products on sale at Gitex Shopper included computers, peripherals, consumer electronics, digital home entertainment LCD TVs, mobile phones, laptops and a wide variety of other IT related items. Some products were sold at a discount and others made available as special offers that coupled a major piece of equipment with a nice accessory. There were also bundles of products sold together at a special price.

Gitex Shopper evolved over the years from a marketplace for computers and accessories to its current status as the single largest annual retail platform for technology in the Middle East. The shopper now encompasses information technology, digital imaging, home entertainment, telephony, consumer electronics, office automation, gaming, educational programs and training, stationery, computer furniture and much more.

It is definitely a retail bonanza but not a pain free event. Getting to the Airport Expo, the venue for the shopper, from the Dubai World Trade Center at peak times took over an hour. And, to get back to home or hotel, those without private vehicles had to stand in long lines for taxis or hope that a shuttle bus would come by. In the case of some heavily discounted items, a very limited number were put on sale daily. Resellers from nearby South Asian and Middle East countries snapped up many of the best deals early each day of the shopper with the general public effectively cut out of these offers.

How good were the deals? Let’s just look at the low end notebooks. The HP Pavilion DV4129 with a Pentium M 725A, 256MB, 40GB was 2,999 dirhams. The Dell Inspiron 2200 with a Pentium M processor 725A, 256MB, 40GB was 2,999 dirhams. Lenovo’s ThinkPad R50e with a Centrino M processor 725A, 256MB, 40GB was 3,299 dirhams. Finally, Acer’s TravelMate 4021 LMi with a Centrino Pentium M 725, 256MB, 60GB was 2,999 dirhams.

Feel like you missed out? Wait till April when Gitex Saudi Arabia is in Riyadh for the best deals in the Kingdom.