Mobile Phone Application Reminds Muslims When to Pray ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - The application is called Sun Dial. When a moving image of the sun enters one of five green circles on the cell phone's screen, users know it's time to pray.

Tech grad students held focus groups to discover what users wanted from the application.

Overwhelmingly, they answered graphics, not text. That's just one of many things the non-Muslim students learned in the design process.

"We had used Arabic to prompt people to the prayer times, then we learned that all Muslims don't actually speak Arabic, so that wasn't an effective way to do it."

That's doctoral student Susan Wyche. She says Muslims have long used telescopes, compasses and other technology to aid in their prayers.

"Islam presented a really exciting way to start to really understand this relationship between designing technology and religion."

The team hopes to offer the program for download by year's end.

Jim Burress, WABE News.
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