Where the customer is king

In Bahrain, Zain has opened what it is billing as a "flagship store." The store aims to be interactive, informative and entertaining. The 350 square-meter, state-of-the-art outlet utilizes the latest in digital technology and hopes to change the way consumers shop for telecom products and services. Eventually, the flagship store will be linked to a network of similar outlets across Zain's Middle East and Africa operations.

Located in Bahrain's Seef Mall, the Zain store demonstrates how digital technology can take the retail experience to new heights, featuring progressive technologies, such as motion sensor screens that change imagery when customers walk by and "lift triggers" that display product information when customers pick up mobile devices. A 65" LCD Welcome Wall and multiple LCD and LED installations also give the location a modern, energized ambiance.

A massive installation in the center of the store combines 14 large LCD displays and text LED. Visitors can send SMS messages to this "brand spine" and watch as synchronized brand images, ambient signage and dynamic text move across the LCD displays. When they need to speak with a Zain customer service representative, customers will no longer be required to wait in a queue. Customers can check-in at a touch-screen display and will be alerted by SMS when a representative is available. Queue indicators throughout the store let customers know their place in line.

New customization services are also expected to be popular. Through "Zain Create" customers will be able to customize their mobile devices with Zain phone overlays, beads and other accessories. A touch-screen tool allows customers to select from available phone skins and other products, all applied on the spot by a Zain specialist.

e-Commerce gains foothold in Oman

In an online survey of Oman's Internet users conducted in January, Arab Advisors Group found that 40.2 percent of adult Internet users in Oman have used e-commerce. Their e-commerce transactions totaled approximately $236 million in 2008. The Arab Advisors Group estimates the number of Oman Internet users who use e-commerce to be more than 158,000, which is about 5.62 percent of the total population in Oman.

Mobile banking finds acceptance

According to research from Berg Insight, the worldwide number of users of mobile banking and related services is forecast to grow from 20 million users in 2008 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 89 percent, to reach 913 million users in 2014. Asia-Pacific is expected to become the most important regional market, accounting for 65 percent of the total user base. Mobile banking is also anticipated to play a key role in bringing financial services to people in the Middle East and Africa. In Europe and North America, the technology will mainly serve as an extension of existing online banks as mobile handsets become more widely used for Internet access. By 2014, Berg Insight forecasts that mobile banking will attract 110 million users in Europe and 80 million users in North America.

"Mobile handsets are in an excellent position to become the primary digital channel for providers of banking and related financial services on emerging markets," said Marcus Persson, telecom analyst, Berg Insight. "People who sign up for their first mobile subscription today will likely open their first bank account in the coming years and thus join the modern financial system. Mobile operators can play a vital role in this development and will have the opportunity to take an active part in the creation of some of tomorrow's most important financial institutions based in Asia and Africa."

Besides traditional retail banking, the report also identifies international money transfer as a potential revenue source for mobile industry players. Berg Insight forecasts that 5-20 percent of the international money transfers currently handled by various formal or informal agent networks will be carried out using a mobile handset by 2014, generating $170-680 million in service revenues.

User-generated photography contests

From Dpreview.com and Amazon.com come "Challenges." Launched in December, Challenges offer photographers the opportunity to create, participate in and judge photographic competitions. Since the feature's beta launch more than 20,000 images have been submitted and more than a quarter of a million votes have been cast by the community.

Dpreview.com welcomes submissions from professionals and amateurs alike. Any Dpreview.com user can create a Challenge and establish his or her own rules and guidelines. Then, anyone can upload submissions for the Challenge set forth. Once the Challenge is complete, the photos are voted on by the community and submissions are ranked with the winners announced. To view some of the winning images from already completed contests click to www.dpreview.com/challenges.

It's getting hot out here

Summer is coming to Saudi Arabia. The weather is already heating up in the afternoon. A challenge to Saudi companies is to know if sensitive products such as foodstuffs, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals have been kept cool during transport, or if they've been exposed to high temperatures during the journey from the factory to the Saudi warehouse. When the doors of a transport vehicle close, perishable goods are at the mercy of the shipping firm.

New TrekView environmental recorders from ShockWatch are attached to shipping pallets as they leave the point of origin. The TrekView recorders obtain vital information regarding the environment that products encounter during the journey. This allows shipment recipients to make quick decisions on whether to accept the shipment or reject it due to potential damage from high temperatures or humidity.

ShockWatch recorders introduce quality assurance into the shipping process, forcing shipping firms to take responsibility for the transport environment. This will help to relieve shipping recipients of the financial burden for damaged goods as they will be able to monitor the shipping environment 24/7 from a distance.

Videos of the week

Would you like to see your video footage promoted globally? Internet Video Magazine (www.internetvideomag.com) has started a Best Internet Videos of the Week section where they highlight exceptional Internet Videos. The submissions should be original short videos that are well produced, with good sound and clear images.

The company is not interested in video clips, outtakes, excerpts from existing TV shows or movies, or videos about people falling down or cute animals. They do welcome funny videos, informative science, computer technology and travel videos, exciting sports videos, as well as interesting school and educational videos. Fake and parody commercials are also acceptable.

The video should be posted to the Internet and then a link to its location emailed to myvideo@ internetvideomag.com describing the movie. Please don't send the video, just the link.

Local social network site

A new social networking site is scheduled to launch in Bahrain tomorrow. Urfilez (www.urfilez.com) will allow users to download music and videos, while chatting to friends over the internet. The site will target an Arab audience, rolling out across the Middle East over the next three months, and then into African and Asian markets. Urfilez wants to grow into a major legal downloading service, plus provide the social networking capabilities of a site such as Facebook, with a focus on young Arab mobile users.

Customers will be able to download and pay for content using their mobile phones. Initially there will be access to 40,000 Arabic songs including popular hits from top selling Middle Eastern artists. Music from western artists will be available later this year. Songs will cost $0.99 and music videos, when they become available in May, will be priced between $2 and $3.