/ 8 September 2003

Dial M for Mecca

South Korea's second largest handset maker, LG Electronics, said on Monday it had unveiled a new cellular phone targeting the Islamic world. LG said the new model, its LG-G5300 phone, has a compass and location-tracking software to show the direction of Mecca, the holiest place in Islam, although it can be used for a variety of directional purposes.

South Korea’s second largest handset maker, LG Electronics, said on Monday that it had unveiled a new cellular phone targeting the Islamic world.

LG said the new model, its LG-G5300 phone, has a compass and location-tracking software to show the direction of Mecca, the holiest place in Islam, although it can be used for a variety of directional purposes.

”The new product targets the Islamic world. Using global positioning system technology, Muslims will be able to pray towards Mecca in any place,” LG spokesman Kim Kyong-Hwan told AFP.

The phone will enable users to point themselves in the direction of Mecca for prayer, he said. ”This can be used anywhere in the world,” he said.

Besides Arab countries in the Middle East, LG Electronics said it would expand its marketing to Muslim customers in Asia. LG-G5300’s will be shipped to Saudi Arabia this week, he said, adding the phone’s retail price was set at about $250. — Sapa-AFP