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RIYADH: With the swine flu epidemic spreading and new cases being reported in the Middle East, plans are under way to install thermal cameras at all entry points to the Kingdom to monitor passengers who might be carrying the influenza virus, the Health Ministry said yesterday.

The digital surveillance cameras will monitor people coming from infected areas by land, sea and air, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Mirghalani said.

He said a scientific committee that was formed to prevent any possible outbreak of the flu was currently studying the recommendations made by the World Health Organization (WHO) to install thermal cameras.

“We are also following instructions given by the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control, which has been monitoring the disease from the beginning,” the spokesman said.

“All 20 health regions in the Kingdom have been alerted and quarantine officials who will operate the thermal cameras at all entry points will be alert for passengers from affected countries,” he said, adding that the ministry’s laboratories are equipped to conduct clinical examinations on a 24/7 basis.

He pointed out that the ministry had also set up a toll-free telephone line — 800 249 4444 — for the provision of relevant information and clarification to the public and also to inform citizens and residents of the services offered by the ministry.

Mirghalani said, “The Health Ministry will also launch a Kingdomwide awareness campaign concerning the disease.”

He added that a special meeting of GCC health ministers would be held in Riyadh on May 9 to discuss uniform measures.

Apple is discussing the option of developing a customized iPhone for Verizon, sources close to the negotiations said.
The device would be the first iPhone developed for a code division multiple access wireless network, which allows phones to maintain their independence while operating on the same bandwidth. The AT&T system uses a GSM (global system for mobile) system, USA Today reported Monday.

Vodafone, co-owner of Verizon Wireless, already sells iPhones for Apple to the European market, the newspaper said.

Sources said the goal was to introduce the CDMA phones into the U.S. market next year. AT&T, meanwhile, has exclusive distribution rights in the United States through 2010, but details of that agreement are not public.

."Breaking the exclusivity with AT&T is a huge thing," said Roger Entner, a telecommunications research specialist at Nielsen.

"That would send shivers into AT&T's stock and senior leadership," he said.

With 80 million customers, Verizon, however, could be a big boost to Apple. But customers would also gain, Entner said.

"They could pick the network they wanted to use: AT&T's or Verizon's," he said. "It would finally give consumers choice, and choice is a good thing." (c) UPI

Thanks to Verizon-RIM’s BOGOF promotion, Blackberry Curve has zoomed past Apple’s iPhone. The report released by NPD Group makes Curve the undisputed king in the US smartphone market for Q1 2009.

RIM managed to snag a good 15 percent of the smartphone market while Apple and Palm lost 10 percent of it.

The top five selling smartphones in US for Q1 2009 were:

RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models)
Apple iPhone 3G (all models)
RIM BlackBerry Storm
RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip)
T-Mobile G1