Digital Qur'an

The "Digital Qur'an" is the electronic version of the Qur'an revered by millions of Muslims across the world. There is a strict code of conduct for handling this holy text which limits its accessibility, especially in situations such as traveling or everyday reading on the move. The invention of the Electronic Digital Qu'ran addressed these limitations, in particular the ability to read the Qur'an due to the on-screen text feature.

Since its introduction in 1993 by the Korean company; Penman Corporation the Digital Qur'an has progressed through various stages of development and taken on a whole raft of additional features on the way. The Original, Penman, Holy Qur'an book was a basic black and white unit, similar in size to the majority of today’s units, the only function of this device was the playback of the recitation of the Quran with synchronized on-screen Arabic text; it allowed basic navigation of The Holy Book with the ability for the user to select a specific Surah and specific verses. This particular function changed little if at all in the succeeding years.

The Digital Qur'an was in instant success throughout the Muslim world, the portability of the device due to its ‘solid-state’ technology, meant that people could read and listen to the Qur'an in places and situations where it had previously been impossible to do so.

The second offering from Penman included the much requested inclusion of the English Text Translation. This again was synchronized with the Arabic recitation and proved an invaluable resource for consumers.

After this point the Reigns were taken up by a company based in Hong Kong; Enmac Engineering Corporation. Their product range made the Digital Quran more financially accessible and attractive by introducing the next major development in the industry; The Colour Screen. This feature mimicked the current trend of the mobile phone market at’ the time and ensured the continuing popularity of the genre.

Enmac’s products were mass produced in China at an affordable price; however this was achieved at the sacrifice of expenditure on research and development. As such the subsequent models were more variation than innovation. This oversight opened the door to a UK based company: Playnetics. This company realized that both hardware and software development of the Digital Qur'an had stagnated and brought to market, innovative; quality based products that addressed the needs of the Muslim technology consumer.

Playnetics initial offering received praise for its usability and design, but the uptake of the product was severely hampered by the high retail price and low dealer margins.