Phone 4 hits UAE and Qatar, but without FaceTime installed

The iPhone 4 launched this weekend in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, but buyers wound up with a surprise -- their handset's front-facing cameras couldn't do FaceTime. Carriers are blaming Apple for the missing feature, and spokespersons from both Etisalat and Vodafone say they're speaking to Cupertino about reinstating FaceTime post-haste; It was reportedly advertised on Middle Eastern versions of Apple's iPhone website until around September 20th, when all references to FaceTime were removed. TUAW reports that some UAE denizens have actually tested FaceTime on phones bought abroad and found it working just fine, but that the functionality disappears after installing the local version of the iOS 4.1 update.