The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

The ground
floor in Citystars is packed with electronics shops that sell all kinds of
appliances and their accessories. One store that especially caught this
reviewer’s eye with its dim lighting and walls lined with mobile phone skins is
Bits & Bytes, which has a wide range of products for the tech savvies or for
anyone who’s just looking to spice up their cell phone’s look. The shop has
many choices for laptops, compact cameras, mobiles and tablet computers,
including Apple products at competitive prices.

For about
400LE less than its official price in Egypt, the iPad 2 3G is available for 5800LE for the 64GB
version, and they also have Samsung’s competing Galaxy in the tablet computers
section. The only iPhone 4 they have available, however, is locked on a certain
network and retails for 5200LE for the 32GB version.

Small
compact cameras in with a variety of brands like Canon, Genius and many others
can be found all for around 300LE. They don’t seem to have a great variety of
laptops though, but you’ll find the popular and new models and in a fair price
too that is only slightly higher than other shops outside the mall. You can
always telephone them beforehand to about the price and specifications of the
laptop before purchasing.

The ’bits‘ part
is what the shop seems to stock up on the most, with rows and rows of plastic
mobile phone accessories in every colour and shape possible. Plastic iPhone and
Blackberry skins range around the 65LE and they have stuff for other mobiles as
well all in very good quality. Better yet, you can give your smart phone a
groovy look with the glittery bling-bling covers collection (150LE) which is
guaranteed to make some heads turn.

Several
stands of laptop bags can be found scattered all through the shop, mainly
categorized by size, from the small netbook size to bigger ones. They also have
many designs and colours in both professional-looking-leather, and fun colours
and shapes. A particularly pink one for only 100LE caught our eye with its soft
outer fabric, and the seemingly tough interior for protection. 

The great
thing about Bits & Bytes is that you can practically see everything they
have inside from the display window. Cluttered as it is, you can still see some
of the prices before having to nervously ask the shop assistant for further
details. The staff seem very professional and they are very helpful in answering
questions and recommending certain items to match your needs and budget, which
all adds up to an effortless and practical shopping experience.