It turns out, the real J-phone is still waiting for a messiah. According to the NYT, ultra-Orthodox Jews living in Israel have developed a phone that flashes the insignia of a rabbinical council on startup. It can’t send or receive text messages, take pictures or run a WAP browser. If you try to call one of over 10,000 “900” numbers known to promote sex, dating or other illicit activities, you will be blocked. On the plus side, calls to other registered ultra-Orthodox phones get you a steep discount—2 cents rather than 9 cents per minute, but if you make a call on Saturday (Shabbos, the Jewish day of rest), they dock you a serious $2.44 per minute. [NYT]
