Nokia, Microsoft welcome Ramadan with Windows Phone 8 apps

Followed by the strong interest among the regional app developer community to develop Islamic and Ramadan apps on the Windows Phone 8 platform, Nokia and Microsoft have jointly announced the availability of a variety of new Ramadan apps this season.
The new range of Ramadan relevant applications can now be downloaded directly from the Windows Phone Store.
“Developers in the region are very enthusiastic with the opportunities Ramadan apps offer on the Nokia Lumia smartphones with Windows Phone 8 as they constitute a “unique economy” within the Middle East app ecosystem. There has been a significant increase in this category and we are pleased to announce the availability of some of the most innovative applications relevant for this Ramadan season,” said Ahmed Arab, app marketing manager, Nokia MENA.
Michael Mansour, developer platform and technology lead at Microsoft Gulf, said: “This Ramadan, Nokia Lumia users will now have easy access to many of the cherished experiences that Muslims like to be close to, and keep them connected to Ramadan. Developers from the region have added various Islamic apps that would let users celebrate this Ramadan with renewed religious fervor and offer Ramadan-specific activities with greater ease and conviction. We are committed to providing Windows phone users with access to innovative applications for seamless experiences on the Windows 8 platform.”
This year’s top new Nokia Windows Phone 8 Ramadan applications are feature packed, and include Ramadan kareem, Qur’an Mojawed, Muslim Prayers, Essential Duas, and also Zomato, which features a special iftar and sahoor section on their website.
Ramadan Kareem: This app is the perfect companion for all Muslims observing the fast. The app gives the time and countdown for both the next prayer and for iftar.
It also covers the prayer times for the entire day, selecting the location manually or through GPS and using one of the multiple calculation methods one can choose under settings. It also offers very useful tools such as Mosque locator, a Qibla finder as well as a Qur’an calculator, to determine the number of pages to be read to achieve one’s reading goal at the end of the holy month. What is unique about Ramadan Kareem, is the free TV and Radio streams the user can access, a selection of fatwa and holy reading and not to mention the special Ramadan recipes and non-Muslim section, explaining do’s and don’ts of Ramadan.
Qur’an Mojawed: Qur’an Mojawed offers the complete Qur’an in Arabic calligraphy with the possibility to listen to each surah from a different reciter. In addition, the Qur’an Mojawed offers complete Tajweed guidelines, as well as bookmarks. Qur’an mojawed is developed by veterans ASGATech, who have established themselves as one of the leaders of Islamic apps.
Muslim Prayers: Muslim Prayers stands out of the crowd with its highly customizable options. Every feature, such as prayer times, Qibla or mosque locator can be “pinned to the start” and accessed straight from the home screen. Its Mosque locator is directly integrated with Nokia HERE Drive and allows users to make use of the voice guided navigation with one click. In addition, the app makes beautiful use of live tiles, allowing the user to see the prayer times flickering on the tiles on his/her home screen.
Essential Duas: Essential Duas compiles a plethora of Islamic Duas for Muslims in a neat, clear interface, following the philosophy of Windows Phone design language, and granting the user a simple, yet elegant way to recite supplications on-the-go. Essential Duas also includes transliterations, as well as translations for each supplication, to help users who are not well acquainted with the Arabic language understand and learn the Duas better. Lastly, the app makes it possible to share Duas with friends and family, via SMS, e-mail, and social media.