By most accounts it was a pretty resounding success--Ali S. Al-Dakhee, Mobily's Youth Segment Manager : "In just a few hours of launch the number of walk-in customers and those who applied online reached 25,000."

Still, the phone is pretty expensive, especially when compared to its American cousin--an 8GB post-paid phone will run you 2,255 Saudi riyals (US$601), and that's before the 99 Saudi riyal ($26) monthly fee. A prepaid will only cost slightly more, at 2,400 Saudi riyals ($639).

Over in the UAE, things weren't quite as smooth, . Reporter Magnus Nystedt went to iStyle at the Dubai mall to buy an iPhone. After some paperwork hassles, he finally was able to walk out of the store with a phone.

Nystedt also found out that the phones , as he tried two different SIM cards in the phone without having to jailbreak/unlock. He also reports that company reps told him that Arabic support is "coming soon," and that at least in the UAE there is no prepaid option.

that "an 8GB model costs anywhere between 0 and 2,646 AED ($720), while a 16GB phone is priced between 375 and 3,090 AED ($102 to $841). The discrepancy is based on accompanying plans, which range between 199 and 643 AED ($54 to $175) per month."