Xbox LIVE ready for UAE

The wait could soon be over for Xbox gamers in the Emirates - access to a localised version of Microsoft’s online multiplayer and digital media delivery service LIVE is on its way.

The platform, which is a big draw for consumers in most parts of the world to buy the console, has not been available in the UAE and Middle East since Xbox was launched here in 2005. Xbox owners in the UAE have been unable to access the likes of NetFlix and other social media services due to its absence.

But in a statement to the 7DAYS Tech Talk team, Microsoft Gulf revealed: “During the next 12 months, we shall be working towards bringing Xbox LIVE to the Middle East; however, we do not have a confirmed launch date as of now.”

Apart from not committing to an exact launch date, the announcement is the most specific from Microsoft Gulf in years regarding launching the service in the UAE.

Aman Sangar, of Microsoft Gulf, told us in October last year that the company hadn’t launched the service yet because they didn’t want to bring a watered down version of Xbox LIVE to the region.

At the time, he also went on to say that there’s “probably a 100-point checklist, regarding Xbox LIVE” and that “there are a number of things that need to be done, not all to do with the infrastructure of the recipient country, it has to do with our infrastructure”.

So, when the Tech Talk team spoke to him last week about the revelation that LIVE is finally coming to the UAE and Middle East, he said: “We’re putting [in] all our efforts to launch it within the next twelve months”.

Desperate UAE gamers have previously gone to impressive lengths to log-on to the service - with many buying US and UK cards to gain access. Soon such ingenuity will no longer be needed.

One challenge for Microsoft will be convincing new and even current gamers that online gaming is safe, especially after news that Sony’s PlayStation Network had been hacked, compromising over 100 million accounts. “It’s a sad thing what happened with the PlayStation Network, and we understand the pressure and responsibility of running an online network that is 24/7, 365 days a year,” Sangar said.

“We’ve always got processes and systems in place to mitigate this. Nobody is invisible and it is a constantly evolving market.

“The PlayStation Network hack just shows and highlights how difficult a job it is, and how much we always have to be a step ahead.”

What are your views on Xbox LIVE finally coming to the region?

Email gareth@7days.ae

Etisalat counters drain claim

Telecom firm Etisalat last night moved to counter rumours it said were doing the rounds about users having their call time drained as part of an international scam. It said emails and postings on social networks speculating that large amounts of call credit being taken if a user called certain international numbers had no basis in fact.

“Etisalat’s Customer Care Centre has not received any complaints about an additional charge has been deducted from their credit when trying to call the specified international destination,” the firm said in a statement.

Jabir Al Janahi, the firm’s vice president of corporate communications cautioned customers to verify information in order to avoid unintentionally spreading rumours in emails and other messages.

Dubai to fashion TV-themed hotel

Fashion TV, the show that revolves around everything high-fashion, has announced plans to tie up with Al Habtoor Group to build the world’s first Fashion Hotel.

The planned Dubai hotel, which will be owned and operated by Al Habtoor, will have 30-storeys and the exterior will display a projection using the world’s largest 100 metre LED screen, broadcasting Fashion TV highlights, around the clock.

Dubai is often the location for lavish building projects. This one seems to be no exception and will even help stamp the city on the world fashion map, according to its backers. “It’s an exceptional project and one which is likely to have a massive impact on Dubai, making it the future fashion capital of the world.

The city will certainly never be the same again,” said Michel Adam, president of Fashion TV.

Expansion calls for pilot scheme

Dubai’s own budget airline flydubai says that it has 600 slots for new pilots in the next four years as it embarks on an unprecedented expansion of routes.

The firm said its needs 14 pilots to operate each of the 50 aircraft ordered from Boeing in 2008.

The last of these planes will be delivered in 2016 and filling the cabin seats is going to require a recruitment drive.

“flydubai is possibly the world’s fastest growing start-up airline ever,” said CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith.

“Now with our fleet and network set to grow at pace in the years ahead, we are recruiting pilots of all type ratings aggressively to ensure we will have the staff to meet our operational requirements.”

Hotel guests want luxury

Prominent Dubai hoteliers face a challenge to satisfy the whims of increasingly demanding customers, as guests expect luxury perks at even mid-market hotels.

Speaking on the opening day of The Hotel Show in the emirate yesterday, senior management at  well-known hotel firms warned steps must be taken to temper the expectations of guests who have come to expect everything from free Wi-Fi to flat screen televisions in even budget rooms.

While Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has reported that average hotel occupancy levels in the first three months of 2011 are up to 79 per cent, industry experts yesterday warned the average daily rate (ADR) at many hotels was actually static or down compared with last year. With budgets tight, guests must understand luxury comes at a price.

“Ten years ago having a wonderful bed was luxury, now you go into a four-star hotel with 400 thread count bedsheets,” said Marc Dardenne, chief executive officer of Emaar Hotels & Resorts. “They expect flatscreen TVs, they expect larger rooms, they expect all the amenities that you get in a five-star hotel,” added Wilson Joseph, chief operating officer at Dubai-based Lotus Hospitality.  

But with 8,000 new hotel rooms added to Dubai’s stock in the last year, some firms feel they have to cater to the upmarket tastes of guests or risk losing them to rivals, or a negative write-up on influential hotel review websites.

“You need to facilitate the requirements they expect from home,” said Jumeirah Group’s vice president of global sales Thomas Grunder.

“Indians love to watch their soaps in the afternoons and the evenings - if you don’t have them then they are going to choose a hotel that has them,” he claimed.

But Sami Al Ansari, CEO of Ishraq Gulf real estate holding, which develops mid-market hotels, said there are limits to what such hotels can  offer.

“I am all for free internet, but at the same time it is not logical for mid-market budget hotel brands to be able to offer it,” he said at the dmg events show.

Don’t blow a gasket

Getting your car repaired is an infuriating business anywhere in the world. It is one of those unpredictable financial commitments that most of us do not budget for - we prefer to pretend it will never be needed, rather like dental treatment or buying gifts for unpleasant relatives.

So we resent every last pound or rupee that we have to pay. When we come to the UAE, the pitfalls of car repair only multiply. It is bad enough that the jargon is a foreign language for most of us. If you have much idea of what a gasket is for, or would recognise an alternator if one fell out of the bottom of your engine, you are probably in a small minority. Add in the diverse range of nationalities in the UAE, and your mechanic may even be speaking in a language that really is foreign too.

So here are some tips to make sure that you do not, metaphorically at least, blow a gasket when it comes to car repair:
 
MAKE SURE YOU CAN FIND THE GARAGE
Garages tend to be in places like Al Quoz, which most of us know about as well as the dark side of the moon. And the directions over the phone tend to be of the ‘left after the fourth signal, U-turn at the hardware store that closed down last year, then turn right at the pile of bricks’ variety.  Not what you need when your car is protesting at moving even another 100m. So find the location on a map and use the street numbers to avoid getting lost.
 
PRETEND YOU KNOW ABOUT CARS
Make some suggestions about what you think the problem is, even though you don’t have the slightest idea, so that the garage thinks you are knowledgeable and will be less likely to rip you off. Never mind that your suggestions make no sense. They will simply put that down to the language barrier. If you are a woman, remember to swap your high heels for sneakers, in order to be taken that little bit more seriously.

BARGAIN FIERCELY
Whatever quote they give you, say you know a garage in Satwa that will do it for less. This never fails to get a discount.
 
CONSIDER REGULAR SERVICING
This seems to be astronomically expensive in the UAE. Whether it is worth it depends largely on the value of the car. A mathematician might draw a utility curve to find the point at which it no longer makes sense to shell out for a service; everyone else just goes on their gut feeling.
 
DO YOU EVEN NEED A CAR?
One of the world’s cheapest metros means that if you live in Dubai, transport to many places costs very little. And your taxi fares to elsewhere might not add up to all that much. It could be time to put your car on the market before it breaks down again.

For roadworthy financial advice email 7days@holbornassets.com