above: Well Wishing's Zen Mobile phone has been blessed by real Buddhist monks
above: various Buddha inspired mobile phones on the market
If you read the gadget, tech or mobile phone blogs, you may have noticed a lot of blogs and sites (like newlaunches slipperybrick and 2dayblog) writing about the release of a cheap ($123.00 USD) compact Buddha flip phone, the C91.
What you may not know is that the phone is a cheap knock-off (actual copy) - of the more ornate and higher priced versions of the only actual Buddhist blessed mobile phones from a company named Well Wishing.
Yes, I will show you all the photos in this post, as well as the prices and places to purchase, so you can compare.
These phones come on the heels of two other Buddha inspired mobile phones sold only in China; the special gold-plated version of the Nokia 73 and the "pray on the go" Odin 99. Granted, the idea of a shelling out money for a gold plated phone seem to fly in the face of zen philosophy, but that aside, let me clearly share with you the products and options if this is your Nirvana.
To start with, the special Chinese version of the Nokia 73, was based on the Shaolin Buddha theme. It is 24k gold plated stainless steel, has diamond and jade accents, features a touchscreen, microSD support, a camera and comes complete with Buddha wallpapers. The Raw Feed says it's a Nokia N70, but Dvice says its's a Nokia 95 and yet on eprice in Hong Kong, where the photos came from, it seems to be a Nokia 73. It was only available in China and no longer seems to be sold.
Nokia Gold plated Shaolin Buddha Mobile:
Next, the Odin 99 phone allows Buddhists to pray to Buddha anywhere, anytime. By pressing the Lotus button, an animated Buddha emerges from the Lotus. There are built in Buddha chant ring tones and Buddha wallpapers. There’s also interactive lighting and animated incense sticks. The phone comes at an undisclosed price but it includes a Buddhist metal talisman and a spare battery.
What most other articles didn't mention is, that in addition to music and video playback, the phone has 2 cameras (one in front and one in the rear), and 2 sim cards. Odin is an electronics manufacturing company in China that usually sells to others.
The Odin 99 (images courtesy of CNET Japan:)
To see a video of the phone in use and hear the ringtones, go here.
The Odin 99 is only available in China.
The Real Thing
Well Wishing seems to be the only REAL Buddhist phone in the sense that The Chinese characters of Well wishing are autographed by Yi Cheng Master, president of the world’s renowned Buddhist Association of China and one of the Four Old Masters in modern China.
above: the zen blessing on Well Wishing phones
The Well wishing · Zen Mobile
Wellwishing’s first product——was co-developed and produced by what they claim to be the world’s renowned mobile phone solution company and the top design company- although they do not tell us the company. The name was given by Master Miao Hua, special researcher at the Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and former deputy director of the Department of the Senate of Buddhist Association of China.
In addition, the one hundred year old Master Ben Huan, one of the Four Old Masters (previously as the abbot of the third generation of Bi Mountain Temple, Nanhua Temple, Guangzhou Xiao Temple and Shenzhen Hongfa Temple) also gave valuable suggestions to the mobile, whose accessory the Bluetooth headset is given the name Clairaudient by Wu Sheng, abbot of Changsha Buddhist Temple.
The Buddhist culture of Well wishing ·Zen Mobile is executively produced by Changsha Xixin Buddhist Temple.
The Zen Mobile comes in three different models; the Reserve, the Platinum and The Collector's editions. The product description is as follows:
Wellwishing·Zen, with the inspiration from water drop, has a sleek and round shape, every connection is a prey from your heart; it's a symbol of auspicious, harmony and peace.Giving you a noble, dignified, kind and joyful image and brought human craftwork and intelligence to an unprecedented altitude.
Glowing gold and sleek jade - which signify honor and virtue in Chinese culture have been unveiled as the two key elements in the design of Wellwishing·Zen:
Rhythm LED light --- Mystic breathing light endows it with breath of life, switching from flare red to gloomy blue ceaselessly:
And the flip design symbols opening the gate to wisdom and harmony:
The mysterious breath light of Wellwishing · Zen Mobile adds more liveliness to our products. When it is switched on, we can see the auspicious Buddha's halo in the interaction of fire red and blue, which carries a great will of happiness and peace and highlights the peaceful human elements:
The clamshell of the mobile is designed to carry the meaning of “Open the doors to spiritual beings”:
And the matching bluetooth earbud is beautiful:
above: The Bluetooth headset is given the name Clairaudient by Wu Sheng, abbot of Changsha Buddhist Temple.
Well Wishing Zen Mobile phones and Accessories:
above from left to right; the Reserve, the Platinum and the Collector's Editions
The Reserve Edition on docking station:
detail:
The Platinum Edition detail:
The available matching charging dock also has an LED colored changing light ring:
prices vary depending upon model, check out the products and availability here.
The Knock-Off
As for that cheap knock-off, the c91? It comes in a gold version and a silver version. Clearly the jade is not real and the presentation is hardly akin to that of Well wishing, but it is only $123.00.
The c91 Compact Buddha Mobile phone:
C91 Dual SIM Card Phone With Bluetooth (Golden) - 1GB (also in silver and gold):
tech specs:
Dual SIM card dual standby phone.
2.0 inch display screen.
MP3 / MP4 multimedia player.
1.3MP camera.
FM radio.
GPRS.
Bluetooth function.
Buy it here.
And there you have the dogma on Buddha mobile phones.
