Google has launched Insights MENA an interactive website that provides research data about the online behavior of urban consumers in five key Arab markets: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. This tool comes handy for online professionals, entrepreneurs, mobile apps developers and is alarming for tyrant Arab governments who can see how the shift of media usage and information control is going away from their hands to the internet,

as the research reveals that media usage via the internet is close to TV and newspapers.

The research was conducted by The Nielsen Company Dubai.

For Internet usage rates, UAE comes in top with 84% then KSA with 70% then Morocco with 51%.

Most internet users in UAE are not new to the internet as 52% has been online since more than 5 years, followed by KSA with 34% and only 17% of Egypt for being online 5 years and more. As for being only 1-2 years online Egypt comes first with 29%, jordan second with 23%.

In All countries, 83% of internet users access the internet from home, 26% from office, 20% from cyber caffe, 15% family and friends and 14% in the go. 70% access the internet daily for 11.4 hours from home and 8.7 from office.

The most frequent online activities are: visiting an online portal, using a search engine, send/ receive emails, use instant messaging, visit and access a social network. Reading writing a blog post came also as an important activity with happening an average 4 times a week.

90% of users own mobile, KSA and UAE has the highest percentage of internet enabled mobiles 69% then 58%, morocco at 28%, Egypt 41% Jordan 51%.

Again UAE and KSA has the highest internet usage via mobile 57% UAE 54% for KSA, then morocco 24%, jordan 18%, Egypt 22%. Which means targeting both KSA and Egypt with mobile apps is more important than other markets, even though UAE has a higher penetration rate than Egypt, but 22% percentage from a population of 10s of millions is greater than 57% of few millions in UAE.

As for E-commerce 12% form UAE purchased online, while 19% did online research, then comes KSA with 5% buying online, morocco and jordan stand at 2% and Egypt at 1%. What are the reasons for these numbers? GDP per capita is higher in KSA and UAE than other countries.

If you are a developer then you should seriously think about learning one of the mobile programing languages and start developing apps for iOS, android, BB, Symbion phones. As there is a huge opportunity to make money and succeed not only in the international markets but also in the Arabian market specially with Arabic apps as a new study reveals.

If you want to develop mobile apps for the Arab world, you should start with a platform, but the questions is which one you should choose? based on the matrix you decide and a look at the research at the end of the post will help you make a better business decision. However, you should note a major highlight, Nokia is sinking desptie Nokia is a clear leader now, but faces fierce competition in GCC from Apple and BlackBerry. 54% of those in the study who where surveyed, claim to use Nokia smart phone, 45% consider it their main phone for apps and just 22% would consider it as their next smart phone.

The study is done by AppsArabia the UAE based fund for mobile apps entrepreneurs which is part of twofour54, to highlight the business potential of apps in the Arab world. The study was conducted online and surveyed nearly 3,000 people in the region and the highest response rate came from Egypt, which had 14% of the participants.

Here is the research highlights :

• 49% of smartphone users expect to upgrade in the next 6 months, 70% in the next 12 months.
• 82% who don’t have a smartphone want one and 54% expect to get their first one in the next 12 months.
• 95% of smartphone users have apps installed.
• Smartphone users have an average of 29 apps installed, while 40% have 10 or less.
• 51% of smartphone users use apps all day long.
• 73% like downloading apps that make their life easier and 57% are interested in game apps.
• 82% of smartphone users with apps download at least once a week.
• On average, smartphone users download 6 apps each month.
• n the coming 12 months, 53% of all smartphone users claim they will be buying apps (30% said they wouldn’t and 17% were not sure)
• In the coming 12 months, 24% of all smartphone users claim they will spend more than USD$50 on apps.
• 58% would trade their usage data and receive targeted advertising in return for free app
• 52% recommend apps to friends while half as many (26%) give a simple rating score for those
• they don’t know to see.
• 33% find out about new apps from their friends while most are discovered doing a search on their smartphone (38%).
• Just 14% would evaluate an app based upon general media coverage.
• 62% of all smartphone users surveyed in the Middle East prefer apps to be in English while
• 39% of users who understand Arabic prefer apps to be in English.

Here is the full research:

After many days of hard work, after over a year of full time dedication to help startups and techies like you, today AC reached a major milestone: ArabCrunch.NET First Online Social Platform in the Arab World focused on Startups & The Technology Industry. With this announcement, the social platform, was what you the passionate startup and tech community wanted AC to develop for you  and as I mentioned back on April that AC will do it! when I wrote about the ecosystem that we need to have in order to help grow the tech industry in this region and turn our economies into knowledge based economy. Today Our promise is delivered, Here is the ecosystem in one place

ArabCrunch.NET, Helping The Arab World Innovate

ArabCrunch Group Extends Technological Reach with First Social Network in the Arab World focused on the technology industry

Amman, Jordan and Silicon Valley, CA – Tuesday, November 10, 2009 – ArabCrunch Group announced today closing a round of funding and the launch of ArabCrunch.NET, the first social network dedicated to creating an environment that fosters innovation, entrepreneurship and mentorship for Arab entrepreneurs throughout the world. ArabCrunch.NET offers a dynamic platform for collaboration amongst the various stakeholders within the technological ecosystem from Berkeley to Bahrain.

The launch came during a press conference held by Arab Crunch in cooperation with Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship at the headquarters of the Royal Scientific Society.

“ArabCrunch.NET will facilitate knowledge transfer and enable veterans from Silicon Valley to work with and mentor young talent from the MENA region,” said Bassel Yassine Ojjeh, a former Senior Vice President of Yahoo!, Inc. USA, a serial entrepreneur and Board Member of ArabCrunch Group, who led the round of funding. “We’ve built ArabCrunch.NET to fuel innovation, create a knowledge based society and an environment for job creation in the region that will serve high tech professionals throughout the 22 Arab countries and the western hemisphere.”

“We’re thrilled at the opportunity to be the first dedicated group that focuses on accelerating the innovation cycle both here in Amman and throughout the Arab world,” said Gaith Saqer, Founder of ArabCrunch Group. “Ever since we launched ArabCrunch.com in 2008, we have been committed to finding the most compelling technological innovations that impact the Arab world – this next chapter allows us to help foster collaboration on a scale never seen before in our region. We have built a social platform that connects participants and helps them find crucial resources, build strategic partnerships and promote services.”

Since it’s unveiling in 2008, ArabCrunch.com has grown to one of the most widely read technology blogs in the Arab world with over 30,000 monthly visits. Founded on the principle of “professional blogging,” ArabCrunch.com has become the primary source of information about the latest technological advancements relevant to the Arabic world. An Arabic version based on “citizen journalism” was launched last month and has met with great success.

- END-

About ArabCrunch Group:
ArabCrunch Group’s mission is to inform, impact, inspire and create an Arab centric technology ecosystem that delivers information, and connects Arab entrepreneurs both in the region and throughout the world via its properties, ArabCrunch.com, ArabCrunch.NET and ArabCrunch.com/ar. About

Arab Crunch.NET:

The mission of ArabCrunch.NET is to help accelerate entrepreneurship and technology innovation in the Arab world by delivering an online social platform that connects participants of the technology ecosystem.
ArabCrunch.NET is the first online social platform dedicated to connect and support technology companies, entrepreneurs, techies, scientists, academia and investors in the Arab world. ArabCrunch.NET is a project from ArabCrunch, the publisher of arabcrunch.com and ArabCrunch Arabic Edition.

About Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship:
The QRCE is a non-profit, non-governmental organization established in October 2004 and is now a complement of El Hassan Science City. The center’s mission is to support economic development through offering a package of services to promote excellence and market technology. The centre particularly targets college students, researchers, inventors and initiators to enhance and build their personal capacities. QRCE offers this group consultation and works to develop their sense of excellence and initiative through a set of programs including Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Excellence Competition, Technology Commercialization Program, Connect Jordan and Princess Sumaya University for Technology’s Entrepreneurship Society (DART).

Mashable announced the winners of The 2nd Annual Open Web Awards, a multilingual, international online voting competition that covers major innovations in web technology. Through an online nominating and voting process, the Open Web Awards recognizes and honors the top achievements of websites and services in 26 categories.

Over 100 Blog Partners  including ArabCrunch have helped make this the biggest Open Web Awards to date with 50,000 total nominations, 80,000 total votes in the first round, and 90,000 votes in the final round according to Mashable. The awards blog partners come from 25 countries and are written in 10 different languages.
There were two sections in the Open Web Awards: the People’s Choice and the Blogger’s Choice. The Blogger’s Choice winners, listed below, surfaced upcoming new sites in every category; the People’s Choice winners are equally diverse. We also present them below. This year’s winners will be receiving the Open Web Award.

People’s Choice Winners

Mainstream & Large Scale Social Networks

Winner: Netlog

Runner-up: Platinum Lounge

Embeddable Widgets

Winner: Qoof

Runner-up: Sprout

Blog Plugins

Winner: ShareThis

Runner-up: AddThis

Social News

Winner: Help a Reporter Out

Runner-up: Hubdub

Social Networking Applications

Winner: Artition

Runner-up: Digsby

Social Bookmarking

Winner: Diigo

Runner-up: ShareThis

Search & Social Search

Winner: Scour

Runner-up: Artiklz

Sports & Fitness

Winner: Gyminee

Runner-up: FitFiend

Photo Sharing

Winner: ipernity

Runner-up: TinyPic

Video Sharing

Winner: ffwd

Runner-up: YouTube

Start Pages

Winner: Google

Runner-up: iGoogle

Places & Events

Winner: Doodle

Runner-up: Muchmor

Travel

Winner: SpottedByLocals

Runner-up: GeckoGo

Music

Winner: Noisetrade

Runner-up: Last.fm

Social Shopping

Winner: Pikaba

Runner-up: A Full Cup

Fashion

Winner: Coolspotters

Runner-up: Polyvore

Celebrity & Gossip

Winner: Oh No They Didn’t

Runner-up: BollyScoops

Mobile Applications

Winner: Evernote

Runner-up: MocoSpace

Dating & Romance

Winner: Zoosk

Runner-up: DateHookup

Wiki

Winner: Encyclopedia Dramatica

Runner-up: WikiHow

Politics

Winner: Politics4All

Runner-up: CreateDebate

How-to

Winner: A Full Cup

Runner-up: College Cram

Environmental

Winner: Ecomii

Runner-up: Gazelle

Non-Profit Causes

Winner: Stop Political Calls

Runner-up: SocialVibe

Online Games

Winner: Playfish

Runner-up: Power Pets

Niche Social Networks

Winner: The Star Tracker

Runner-up: Wadja

Blogger’s Choice Winners

Mainstream & Large Scale Social Networks

Winner: Twitter

Runner-up: Facebook

Embeddable Widgets

Winner:

Clearspring

Runner-up: Sprout

Blog Plugins

Winner: ShareThis

Runner-up: AddThis

Social News

Winner: Digg

Runner-up: Mixx

Social Networking Applications

Winner: Ping.fm

Runner-up: Twitterfeed

Social Bookmarking

Winner: Delicious

Runner-up: StumbleUpon

Search & Social Search

Winner: Google

Runner-up: Scour

Sports & Fitness

Winner: Gyminee

Runner-up: Oneseason

Photo Sharing

Winner: Flickr

Runner-up: Picasa

Video Sharing

Winner: YouTube

Runner-up: Vimeo

Start Pages

Winner: iGoogle

Runner-up: Netvibes

Places & Events

Winner: Doodle

Runner-up: Eventbrite

Travel

Winner: TripIt

Runner-up: GeckoGo

Music

Winner: Last.fm

Runner-up: Pandora

Social Shopping

Winner: Wishpot

Runner-up(s): Tigerbow/Pikaba (tie)

Fashion

Winner: Coolspotters

Runner-up: Gift Girl

Celebrity & Gossip

Winner: Perez Hilton

Runner-up: Popvine

Mobile Applications

Winner: Evernote

Runner-up: Qik

Dating & Romance

Winner: SpeedDate

Runner-up: OKCupid

Wiki

Winner: Wikipedia

Runner-up: PBWiki

Politics

Winner: Huffington Post

Runner-up: CreateDebate

How-to

Winner: eHow

Runner-up: Howcast

Environmental

Winner: ThinkGreen

Runner-up: SocialVibe

Non-Profit Causes

Winner: SocialVibe

Runner-up: Kiva

Online Games

Winner: Playfish

Runner-up: Kongregate

Niche Social Networks

Winner: Wadja

Runner-up: Lifeblob

From now on ArabCrunch will host a weekly poll to get the feeling from our tech savvy readers about issues related to tech startups, and the web and mobile in industry in the region.

This week poll is about online advertising in the Arab world, will it increase or decrease? In light of the current global economic meltdown that has affected the richest Arab countries – the oil countries of the Arabian peninsula- with  lower oil prices, losses for their investments in USA and the west.
The economist said that sovereign Arab funds lost USD $ 400 billion in this crises, the funds amount is in
trillions of USD.

Please do chose your answer and post a comment if you have one, to enrich this important topic that is crucial to any online business in the Arab world, if you run an online business please share your experience in the last few months with AC readers.

Before posting also take into account 2 things: Arab oil countries online Ad spending is the highest as a percentage of all online Advertising spending in region in the last years, and as a percentage of the total ad spending.

Another factor is that currently online advertising makes less that 1% of total advertising spending, totaling to around USD $ 50 million a year.

[poll id="3"]