Arab World: iPad Fever Grips Arabia  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Got my iPad :D” tweets Khalid Alsudairy, a 22-year-old Saudi student studying in Boston.
Soon enough, the news travels across the region, with well wishers congratulating him on the feat. Saudi tech blog iPhad (Ar) takes a step further and interviews Alsudairy as being “among the first Arabs to own an iPad.”
Among the questions Alsudairy answered in the interview was this:
بالنسبة لاستخدامي للجهاز فاعتقد انه سيكون مقسم على قراءة الكتب، سماع الموسيقى ومشاهدة الفيديو وبعض الالعاب. لا اعتقد انه يخدم رجال الأعمال فهم يحتاجون لتطبيقات معقدة تحتاج كومبيوتر كامل لها.
A: I will use the iPad for reading books, and watching videos, and playing games. No, I don't think that it serves businessmen who will need complicated applications which need a complete computer.
In Kuwait, Mark too claims to be among the first iPad users.
248am's iPad
Writing at 248am, the blogger notes:
Just got hold of an iPad from X-Cite to review and check out. It just arrived from the States and it’s one of the first iPads in Kuwait. So far my first impression is that the iPad looks even cooler than the pictures, it’s really an incredible device I love it, the screen is amazing, better than the screen of my MacBook which I’m currently typing on.
Readers were quick to note the huge price difference between the US and Kuwait, with some opting to get their gadget from outside Kuwait instead.
Yousif writes:
the hell with Xcite for charging people more than twice the price! Just ordered it off Apple and getting it send to a me.
And Funny Story adds:
Which fool would pay twice the amount you can buy it for online?
Ridiculous.
Also in the comments section, Eagle has an explanation for the high price. He writes:
fyi, I went to the xcite store and asked the guys why is it priced so high over US prices. They said they actually few in some people carrying these machines from the US last night and the price incudes this cost. Considering Kuwait is the first country outside US to indroduce it, it is not too bad. It will only be released in the Middle East after 3 months. Now if you compare it to iPhone price, it isnt too bad!
Meanwhile, Kuwaiti N, who blogs at Up Till One, did not take these comments to heart and was quick to get her hands on the iPad – and post lots of pictures “unboxing” her new gadget.
And back to Mark, here is more information for iPad users in Kuwait.