@jfj: Because BBM goes encrypted to BlackBerry's servers in the UK and Canada, which means the law enforcement agencies in the UAE and Saudi can't snoop, and the courts in those countries can't order RIM to hand over any data. iPhone data goes through the local ISP's servers, which means it can be snooped on.

They sense RIM is close to rolling over. They're probably right.

@Cyb3r_Punk: I live in the UAE. Thanks for playing.

@superhappyfuntime: The back door is already open.

@British Benzene: I doubt it was the UAE per se. That said, the phone operators here redefine terrible service.

@CaffineFreakUs: That depends what you mean by legal process. The US - along with other Western governments - has a massive security apparatus that can obtain snooping warrants with little more than 'trust us, we need it'. I'm sorry, but crass as the UAE government's approach may be, I don't see that much substantive…

@DefineStatutory: RIM has already blinked in the UK, Canada, US, Russia and probably India. Really, the question should be why it's taking so long to blink in the Gulf.

@SkipErnst: Of course the US government already has these snooping powers. So really it's RIM being UAE-unfriendly.

@AT203: The UAE is only demanding the same powers that the US, UK and Canada already have. Why do you trust those governments to snoop your data responsibly, but not the UAE?

@Hvedhrungr: Do you even remember 1999? Phones were terrible then.

@Cyb3r_Punk: Yeah, maybe. Unless you're in one of the Gulf states where they legally enforce Ramadan, with the result that everyone binges after dusk and before dawn, and the majority put on weight during a supposed time of humility and fasting.

@wanderingrabbi: No. But some Arab countries are. Saudi, for example, has quite a few.

@N-Bomb: If we think snooping is a bad thing, let's get our own (democratic, accountable) governments to stop it first, before we start preaching.

They're unlikely to end up being banned in either Saudi or the UAE - the Saudis love their BBs every bit as much as Emiratis.

Sorry, Giz, but no - this is pure sales puff. Shame on you.

Yeah, you try getting my crazy mother to use a mobile.

So the question is, who is this Rice character, who's so important they have THREE BlackBerrys?