JEDDAH, 2 January 2005 — Prices of camera phones have dropped by more than 50 percent after the Kingdom overturned a ban on the use of such mobile phones.
Customers are reportedly making a beeline for camera phones, especially Nokia 6600 and Nokia 7610 which are in great demand.
Muhammad Saleh, owner of a shop selling camera phones, said: “Lifting the ban on camera phones is proving to be profitable for our business. It killed the black market, which had harmed our business. The prices of the two most famous mobile phones dropped sharply killing the black market. The price of Nokia 6600, known as Panda, was SR2,400 in the black market. Now we sell it for SR1,200 with guarantee and SR1,000 without guarantee.”
Ahmad Al-Attar, a customer interviewed by Arab News, said he regretted buying a camera phone in the black market. “If only I had waited for the ban to be lifted.”
Omar A., another customer, said: “The Panda cell phone is very popular because of its numerous features. It was the first cell phone with a built-in camera. It was also convenient to handle. The camera phone was hated by many people because of the bad reputation it created. This type of technology was the reason why camera phones were banned because people abused the phone. Now that this phone is allowed once again in the market, it will raise more concerns because this particular phone is in heavy demand.”
