Saudi startup plans cellphones with prayer tools
A Saudi company, Saudi Television Mfg. Co., is said to be producing a cellphone for the Muslim market, which will include prayer times for 5,000 cities, a directional indicator (to allow users to face Mecca when praying), and menus in Arabic, English, French, Urdu, Persian and Bahasa Indonesia (we assume that one thing the phone won't include is a camera, since Saudi Arabia only recently dropped its ban on cameraphones). Other Middle Eastern startups have developed similar devices, including a GPS-equipped Pocket PC and a phone with an embedded copy of the Koran. And at least one major manufacturer, Korea's LG, is producing a phone with a built-in compass and a prayer alarm.
