Keeping app to date during Ramadan

Seeking a deeper spiritual understanding of Islam and the core teachings of Ramadan? Telecoms, media companies and phone manufacturers in the UAE are offering more mobile applications and internet services than ever before tailored specifically to help explore the religious underpinnings of the holy month. And with a mobile penetration rate of roughly 200 per cent in the UAE — one of the highest in the world — there can be no doubt that information and technology consumers are eagerly snapping up a raft of new apps and services that may help bring more meaning to Ramadan. There are currently more than 11 million active mobile phone subscriptions in the UAE. Mobile applications for Ramadan give mobile phone users immediate access on a variety of topics ranging from Qibla direction, Hadeeth, as well as the Quran. Tom Farrell, general manager of Nokia Lower Gulf, said the Finnish firm is working to help its Middle East customers widen their experiences during Ramadan with the help of applications. "This year, Nokia is once again showing its understanding of regional culture and its commitment to the local community through the launch of the Ramadan campaign," Farrell said, noting that some "600,000 apps were downloaded in the Middle East from the Ovi Store during the Holy Month in 2010 while the Quran app recorded over one million downloads in the Middle East last year". Part of life Farrell told Gulf News that Nokia's apps have become part of mobile users' lifestyles during Ramadan because they make life not only more interesting but a little easier. "We believe that our Ramadan apps have, to our users, become as much a part of Ramadan as iftar and they have come to rely on them to add to their overall experience during Ramadan — for example knowing exactly when prayer times are each day throughout the holy month or calculating their exact Zakah donations. Each year our Ramadan applications are enhanced and improved and our customers wish to have the most up to date apps, hence why they prove so popular, year on year," Farrell said. This month, Nokia is helping those who cannot help themselves through a new campaign that will see the company donate five dirhams to three charities — UAE Red Crescent, Dubai Autism Centre and, Children with Cancer Support — for each Nokia Ramadan Calendar installed through the Nokia UAE Facebook page. Farrell said: "We encourage people to embrace the spirit of the occasion by helping us to connect with and give to those who are more in need." BlackBerry on board Mike Al Mefleh, director of product management, Middle East RIM, said Research in Motion also understands the importance of the holy month in the region and offers a number of BlackBerry apps for the holiday. "Ramadan is the most important month in any Muslim's life. It is a time when people take the time to be closer to God, family and friends, giving more to their communities and generally committing themselves to becoming better people," Al Mefleh told Gulf News. "Our applications provide a simple method that assists people by contributing more to their daily lives, as well as the lives of their loved ones using the social networking integration. "Our applications are purpose built to provide users with a tangible experience that will make a real difference in their lives, whether listening and reading the Quran, or using the built-in GPS to locate the Qibla, or setting and sharing prayer reminders with their loved ones, these applications were developed with the aim of helping people lead a better life, whether during Ramadan or beyond." David Ashford, general manager of appsarabia, said Ramadan apps have become extremely popular because they are instantly accessible wherever mobile phone users happen to be at any particular moment. "The beauty is that you always have your phone with you," said Ashford. "You have access to content and functionality there and then — it's the spontaneity and timeliness." The more popular applications are the ones that provide the most useful services, he said, such as GPS-based location and optimum time of prayer. "Apps that can meet these demands are the ones that will be successful," Ashford said. Hasan Sandila, telecommunications analyst for IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa, said high mobile penetration is pushing consumer demand for Ramadan apps. "There is a high smartphone proliferation in the GCC region and hence, Muslims tend to use their smartphones for the purpose of prayer alarms, GPS-based Qibla finder for direction of Makkah and translation applications for Quranic verses. The uptake of these applications increases drastically during the month of Ramadan, because Muslims get relatively more involved in religious activities," Sandila said. "Ramadan applications are truly making a difference in consumers' lives because they provide ease, comfort and mobility. Applications such as online streaming for Islamic lectures, Qibla detection, Quran translation, Islamic ringtones etc have penetrated well among the Muslim communities across the world, particularly in the GCC." Apple, Android By no means are Nokia and BlackBerry the only providers of apps during Ramadan. Apple offers Ramadan applications from its iTunes Store which houses more than 435,000 different apps, the mobile market leader when it comes to applications. And a growing number of phone manufacturers, such as Samsung, HTC, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG that are using Google's Android platform, also offer Ramadan apps. Android is surpassing all other platforms and is experiencing up to 550,000 activations a day, according to the latest Google second-quarter report.