I am not sure of all the implications of this story (these types of stories are too often abused by consultants and such who make them fit whatever message they want to get across), but the Ilkone i800 mobile phone is definitely an example of culturally appropriate experience design. It’s not a new story, but worth repeating.

The Ilkone i800 generates five automated reminders a day at prayer time, points Muslims in the direction of Mecca and contains a complete, authorized version of the Koran in Arabic and English. And it gets better: it automatically goes to "silent" mode during prayer time, and has an Islamic calendar built in.

The phone seems to fit in a larger movement of Muslim-oriented services (aka the Muslim lifestyle market), like matrimonial websites, Muslim social networks, specialized travel services and such. It reminds me somewhat of the specialized services around the Jewish communities in places like New York. In Belgium and Europe, meanwhile, there is a growing market for "Halal" meat providers.

So as I said, I don’t have much analysis or thoughts on this, just saving it her for later reference.