Saturday, September 4, 2004
COMPANY RELEASES NEW CELL PHONE DESIGNED FOR MUSLIMS
By Jeremy
Reynalds
SINGAPORE (ANS) -- The
world’s first cell phone for Muslims is now on the market. It was
introduced in Asia by the Singapore based company Ilkone Asia. (Pictured: A Company Advertisement for the
Phone).
According to the company’s web site, the Ilkone I-800 phone provides
Islamic prayer times for users wherever they are in the world and even
points them toward Mecca when they select the city and country where
they may be.
The phone also contains the full text of the Koran with
English translations.
Commenting in a release on his company’s web site, Ilkone’s CEO Saqer
Tellawi said an international consortium spent two years in research
and development prior to launching the phone. That consortium comprised
partners from the United arab Emirates, Egypt, England, Australia and
South Korea.
Some of the research time was spent focusing on key areas ranging from
design to manufacturing and distribution networks, Tellawi added.
“The objective of the i-800 is to satisfy the needs of specific Muslims
around the world, and the Middle East in particular, through a range of
phones providing advanced Islamic solutions, applications, and
functionality,” Tellawi said. “Ilkone will be a relevant and integral
part of the personal lives and practices of modern Muslims everywhere,
and the advanced mobile technology of Ilkone phones will meet their
practical, technological, and emotional needs.”
According to Ilkone’s web site, the i-800 was first
introduced in Lebanon, followed by Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, North
Africa, India, Bangladesh and Singapore. It is scheduled to soon be
available in Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Bangladesh, Iran ,
Pakistan and India.
Ilkone is attempting to “to satisfy the specific needs of mobile phone
users around the world in general and with special focus in the Middle
East market,” the company says on its web site. “Through a range of
mobile phones with advanced solutions, applications, and functions that
address the special needs of the modern mobile users of today, ‘Ilkone’
mobile phones will meet the practical, technological, and emotional
needs of our customers.”
On its web site Ilkonbe says that by using special applications and
features which are not used in other cell phones, ir aims to become
“the choice mobile solution for the discerning mobile users of today.”
The name ‘Ilkone’ comes from the Arabic word meaning “universe.” Ilkone
says that by using the expertise of a number of international companies
it is developing “unique applications for special-interest market
segments.”
Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer
and the founder and director of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest
emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org
or http://www.christianity.com/joyjunction.
He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New
Mexico and is a candidate for the Ph.D. in intercultural education at
Biola University in Los Angeles. He is married with five children and
lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy
Reynalds at reynalds@joyjunction.org.
Tel: (505) 877-6967 or (505) 400-7145. Note: A black and white JPEG
picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at assistcomm@cs.com.
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