And the winner of battle of the brands at Gitex is…

As Gitex winds down, this year the info-tech expo will be remembered for some pitched battles fought out on the sales floor.

Against the backdrop of a global smart-phone war, regional security concerns surrounding BlackBerry and general economic recovery in the UAE, the biggest names in the business went head-to-head.

Here’s a look at the key contests and how the brands fared.

iPhone 4 vs BlackBerry Torch

BlackBerry seems to have edged this one, thanks in no small part to the excellent timing of its parent company Research in Motion and the UAE government reaching an agreement – four days before the start of Gitex.

Also, competitive pricing, bundle offers from du and Rim CEO Jim Balisillie addressing the event, pushed the BlackBerry Torch into the spotlight.

 “iPhone fans continue to be dedicated to their brand. But we see a visible increase in the interest to own a BlackBerry device,” was the chorus from salespeople on the shop floor.

iPad vs Samsung’s Galaxy tablet

While nobody was willing to give us exact sales numbers for these two tablets, who by all accounts dominated at Gitex, it would be fair to call this one a draw.

Which is impressive for Samsung, given the iPad was here first and rode a wave of media hype and hoopla for a better-than-average launch some months ago.

The sub-plot here was operation systems and merits of Android versus that of Apple’s and the stuff that would make geeks drool.

“The iPad is seeing  stiff competition from Samsung Galaxy. In fact, dealers underestimated the demand for the Galaxy and ran out of stocks on some days.”

Like we said, a dead heat.

Etisalat vs Du

It would be a cliché to say the customer is the real winner here, but the fact is, you are.

Du seemed to sweep the attention with some very aggressive pricing on the Torch, which for some reason, etisalat decided not to launch at Gitex.

Etisalat were quick to react, if such a thing is possible and have since announced  that their Torch launch will have a Dh1,000-off bargain deal.

Like we said, customer wins in the end.

However, at Gitex itself, sales staff reported that on average, four out of five BlackBerry handsets being sold were with the du package.