My apartment was due to be handed over on Nov 1, 2008 and was actually handed over in June 2010. The apartment is very nice and the views great, but as it is in the middle of the Pearl the landscaping is not finished and the shops and restaurants not yet opened.

They are currently building real shops - like where you would go and buy your daily needs like milk, bread, etc as opposed to a Ferrari showroom - which are due to be opened next year which likely means 2012 or 2013 or, as Flan so rightly put it, after that close to the end of the world. It is coming on, but slowly.

As for the buildings, each are different designs, sizes and prices. They may look similar from the outside, but that is where the similarities end. If you want an price scale other than the ones quoted by the developers, try mycoreo.com