Indian students using mobile phones. Image Ref: bbc.co.uk image:33648:0::0

When reporter Mike Elgan started to research for his recent article he found that surprisingly there are no Christian, Hindu or Sikh cell phones.

Don't worry though if you're Christian as you can add the features to your current phone. Even though the Christian market is the largest religion wise in cell phone use there isn't a carrier that markets solely for those whose faith is based in the New Testament. Ring tones and cell cases aside there appears to be a ripe market in the making.

That leaves only three major contenders in the religious cell phone company market; Islam, Buddhism and Judaism.

The Jewish Cell Phone

While a cell phone can not be technically kosher Mirs Communications Ltd., an Israeli subsidiary of Motorola Inc. is as close as you can get without the food. The phones have their own censorship board, the Rabbinical Committee for Communications. The cell was not started as a regular cell phone like many other religious models, instead it has less features than its competitors.

When you buy a "kosher phone" you get a phone that makes and receives calls. That's it. No texting. No camera to show off. Dating services and sex hotlines are blocked.

And the cost? Mirs punishes users that need to make a call on the Sabbath at $2.44 a minute. Per minute charges between kosher phones do have a nice discount though.

The Muslim Cell Phone

With the calling to prayer five times a time Muslims need a cell phone with extra features. If you're at home and close to a Mosque being called to prayer isn't a problem but away and in a foreign city prayer times get to be confusing. One doesn't have to worry with several Muslim cell phones available world wide.

The creme of the crop is Ilkone Asia based in Singapore. The Ilkone 1-800 plays a call to prayer at the right time and points which direction Mecca is.

The full text of the Quran is also embedded into the phone in either English or Arabic.

The phone is available in Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, North Africa, Singapore, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Bangladesh, Iran, Pakistan and India. There are plans for it to make an appearance in both Europe and the United States soon.

The Buddhist Cell Phone

The very best of religious cell phones are for Buddhists and available only in China. The Nokia N70 features ring-tones, software and other properties with a Buddhist leaning.

The gold-plated phone has a jade "Buddha video button" that enables uses to watch a Buddhist video. All of the components feature embossed images of Buddha.