its also religious and social. like they don't want women showing their face or dissidents from the respective countries communicating anonymously with each other. whatever the case, bottom line is VOIP services are HARDWARE banned on their phones. means u go to another country where it is allowed u still wont get that service or even with carrier update. facetime isnt the only one, few other apps depend on it. So if u get a UAE or Saudi phone, you are **** out of luck. This is from a short google enquiry.
USA and singapore phones seem to be good, but if u r buying from grey market u r taking a chance that phone is stolen. happened to a friend of mine where his iphone came up as stolen when he activated in another country.
Please when someone gets the phone or visits a service center give us some definite anwsers
