True or Hoax re IMEI

Well, I wouldnt feel insecure where the device is manufactured as long as I am sure if it was manufactured in the company facility. If it is manufactured in a company facility, it would surely (Most likely) have adhered to the company quality policy. If I am talking of a company like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, etc, I can be more secure that their quality process is pretty good(of course every process might produce some defects). So if its a Nokia phone (they have manufacturing facilities in various places), wherever its manufactured, its going to be 'Nokia'. So I wouldnt worry.

And yess, IMEI does give lots of information regarding the device. Infact you can find out history of your device too http://www.numberingplans.com/?page=analysis&sub=imeinr

Check this for information regarding IMEI : http://www.orate.co.uk/Mobiles/imei.html

Also a nice read regarding IMEI is as usual the wikipidia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mobile_Equipment_Identity

AEG most probably stands for an originally German company manufacturing various electric and electronic devices:
http://www.aeg.com/

Nothing to do with Arab Emirates .... besides, phone factories in the hot desert sand of the Emirates? Unlikely