Prayer Phone

28 Aug 2010 - It is Ramadan, and Pakistan is flooded. But business in Hong Kong's Chunking Mansions is booming. One of the best-selling items is a prayer phone for Muslims. The phone - made in China - is equipped with Urdu software and comes with a 'mini sound box' to broadcast the call to prayer. Salesman Tony says the Chinese can copy everything ("even Ferraris") and explains that he sold 25,000 copies if the prayer phone last month alone (that is no typing error!). The phone is made to order for the Pakistani market. The "China phones" have unrecognizable brand names such as S-names or Asmara, but are in high demand in the developing world. Prof. Gordon Matthews from CUHK estimates that about 20% of all mobile phones in circulation in Africa has passed through the Chungkong Mansions complex. That is pretty impressive for the stuffy labyrinth.