Trend: Mystic Mobiles

Innovative feng shui software brings fortune telling to China’s mobile generation.

One of the things that gives China its mystic charm is the country’s long history of fortune telling. In the past geomancers used elaborate magnetic compasses to determine the favorable flow of vital energy and how best to ward off destructive evil forces – a practice called testing geomancy (ce fengshui or 测风水 in Chinese). Now, thanks to the digital revolution, Chinese people can use their Nokia cellphone to determine where their fortunes lie, using the company’s free Fengshui 2008 program.

The program is the brainchild of famous geomancer Huang Wenchao, (nickname guan long or “observing the dragon”), who has studied feng shui for more than 20 years. To begin, users pick one of the 12 animals representing their birth year, and then receive comprehensive guidance on their fortune for the year and an in-depth analysis of their career, finance, health and private life. There is another category concerning how to avoid misfortune and multiply good luck. For instance, if your child is a little hellraiser for no apparent reason, it may be because the color of your floor is conflicting with other household possessions - time for some redecoration! The program will also highlight on phone calendars the time and dates of good and ill luck with reference to your personal data, showing such things as when to get married, start a business, take trip, and even buy lottery tickets.

Fortune telling is personal, and so are mobile phones. Software that can bring the two together can make an excellent selling point. In some Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea, fortune telling is a profession that has developed into a systematic study over the years, and its appearance on mobile phones is taken seriously. In other parts of the world, similar practices are also part of local culture, and even if they are regarded by many as meaningless superstition, they have led to a growing range of handset software that is proving a productive marketing tool and an entertaining phone feature.

For the original post and other Chinese trends please visit the CScout China blog.

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