e-health: Connected Hospital improves patient care

07 February, Paris

Orange Business Services and Philips combine their know-how to offer an innovative solution to healthcare establishments.

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Orange joins forces with the Cned to launch "English by Yourself"

07 February, Paris

In line with its "digital coach" strategy, Orange has partnered with the Cned, the European leader in distance education, to support the development of educational practices in language learning.

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Orange supports Safer Internet Day

03 February, Paris

For the second year, Orange is supporting “Safer Internet Day”. Organised by Insafe , this event promotes safer and more responsible use of online technology and Internet amongst children and young people across the world.  

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companies unite to enhance online safety for children

19 January, Europe

The ICT Coalition for a Safer Internet for Children and Young People, of which France Telecom-Orange is a signatory, has announced its guiding principles for the development of products and services to actively enhance the safety of children and young people online.
25 companies from across the information and communications technology sector are signatories to the principles, which aim to ensure that children and young people obtain the greatest benefit from new technologies, while avoiding the challenges and risks which are of concern to people worldwide.
The Principles focus on the key areas of: content, parental controls, dealing with abuse/misuse, child sexual abuse content or illegal contact, privacy & control and education & awareness.
The ICT Principles have been deliberately set at a conceptual level to allow the widest possible range of companies to become signatories and ensure that child safety is an integral part of their products and services. The Principles differ from other ongoing initiatives because they provide a long term roadmap for safer development and cover all aspects of accessing and using the internet and its services.
Signatories will begin implementation of the principles in 2012.

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TP and Orange are on the field for UEFA EURO 2012

10 January, World

Polish Telecom (Telekomunikacja Polska, TP) and Orange have successfully completed the first phase of testing for the technology infrastructure and services to be provided during the UEFA European Football Championship later this year. Tests took place between the various stadiums in Poland and the International Broadcasting Centre, which marks a critical stage in the preparations for the UEFA EURO 2012™ championships.

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2012, will be hosted by Poland and Ukraine between 8 June and 1 July 2012. It is the first time that either nation has hosted the tournament.

Within the technology partnership framework, Polish Telecom (TP) and Orange have provided a complete data communication solution, which will ensure connectivity among over 20 locations in Poland (host cities, stadiums, hotels for UEFA representatives) and between Poland and Ukraine.  Thanks to TP and Orange services, the video signal from stadiums will be transmitted to all official broadcasters at the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC). From here, the signal will be transmitted all over the world.

Orange is a principal sponsor of UEFA EURO 2012™ in Poland and Ukraine. This sponsorship represents our first pan-European sports sponsorship of this size and will see 11 countries in Europe, united under the Orange brand, bringing the tournament to life for football fans across Europe through innovative products and services.

Orange is also developing, in partnership with UEFA, the official UEFA EURO 2012 Championship application, which will be available for all platforms.

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Orange and Dailymotion launch 3D channel

5 January, France

Orange and Dailymotion launched in December a 3D channel in French language, which is available on all computers in anaglyphs for use with 3D glasses as well as on 3D-compatible computers. The content available on this 3D-dedicated channel will be enhanced over time with Dailymotion partner- and web-user content. Content offered on this dedicated 3D channel will also be available for mobiles starting in February 2012.

The channel is online at www.dailymotion.com/fr/3D and web users can view “Mag3D”, a 26-minute monthly magazine programme hosted by Pierre Mathieu who, with a guest, presents current 3D news topics along with a variety of regular items. In parallel with the programme, the Mag3D website www.lemag3D.com offers web users the chance to experience impressive and interesting aspects of the visual media.

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Orange joins Tizen Association board

5 January, France

Orange has announced that it has become a board member of the Tizen Association, which has been formed to drive industry engagement and in-market support for the Tizen platform. The Tizen Association was formed on 1 January 2012 and includes many of the world’s leading technology organisations. 

Hosted by the Linux foundation, Tizen is an open-source, standards-based platform, which uses HTML5 as the application development framework. It is designed to span multiple device categories including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and in-vehicle infotainment systems.

Tizen is the first mobile OS to use HTML5 as its main development platform. It has a dedicated HTML5 SDK and is leading the way on driving new HTML5 APIs. It also supports WAC 2.0 APIs. HTML5 is increasingly becoming the cross-platform standard for application development. It offers routes for mobile developers to look at ways of reusing their applications without having to build a number of native versions.  Companies such as Facebook and The Financial Times (FT.com) have already built HTML5 applications and there is expected to be an increasing number of HTML5 application stores being launched.

visit the Tizen website

visit the Tizen association website

Orange Pro named as France’s leading online business portal

4 January, France

With over 1.3 million unique visitors each month, Orange Pro - the Orange business portal – has been named as France’s most popular B2B site according to a survey of internet business sites by Nielsen-Mediametrie. The study also found that Orange Professionnel, the information and services portal for entrepreneurs and small businesses, is the site where professionals spend most time: an average of 26 minutes per month per person.
In just two years, Orange’s business portal has almost doubled its number of visitors from micro-enterprises and SMEs by enriching its online services offering. Visitors can now access all day-to-day tools directly from the homepage, including messaging and monitoring the essentials of general, business and digital news at a glance. The portal also provides quick access to Orange’s new online services offering in Cloud mode. This offering, called “le cloud pro”, brings together all of the applications and services vital to the activity of a professional SME for the first time, including collaborative work, document management, business management, marketing and communications and customer relations management.

find out more about the cloud pro

read the full press release

Orange launches online site to test perceptions of local areas

1 January, France

Orange has joined up with OWNI, FING and Everydatalab to launch the “Where do you really live?” (“où habitez-vous vraiment?”) site that invites internet users to revisit the area where they live in the form of a test, which compares their perceptions of their local area with the real situation. The test, which has been created to be both fun and serious, is designed to see if people are using publicly available or open data to better understand the way their local and national services are run.

The results of the test, compiled by the researchers at the Orange Sociology and Economics of Networks and SErvices Laboratory, will allow for an initial analysis of the effects of making public open data available to internet users. The results will be published on the site once a statistically significant sample size has been reached.

The site also offers an opportunity to explain the use of public or open data. More and more local authorities and countries are making the data that they collect in the course of their activities – such as the usage of hospitals, allocation of public spending, timetables for public transport - available to everyone in a digital format. These initiatives are intended to make data more widely available, to improve the visibility of their actions and allow third parties, such as the app developers, to create new services around the data that could benefit consumers and the public.

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Orange underlines role in mobile apps ecosystem

20 December, World

In ‘For a richer digital life’ Orange summarizes its role at the heart of the mobile applications ecosystem. Launched at the LeWeb11 event in Paris, the paper emphasises how Orange sees its role as the ‘digital coach’ to its customers, helping them discover, download and use the apps that are best suited to them and their lifestyle. The paper describes the organisation’s role in apps ecosystem: from creation, with its own Orange-branded apps; through discovery and distribution via its Orange selection channels; to how it directly engages with the app developers and publishers through its Orange Partner programme. “At Orange, we want to guide all our customers to ensure they have the best possible experience whatever their choice of handset”, said Paul-François Fournier, executive vice-president of Orange Technocentre.

Orange Partner and VisionMobile launch biggest ever X-platform survey

12 December, World

Orange Partner has joined forces with VisionMobile and other industry partners to launch Cross-platform Developer Tools 2012, the biggest survey on cross-platform dev tools. The survey invites developers and application providers from across the applications ecosystem to rate the current crop of cross-platform development tools, as well as track their experiences and perceptions of the x-platform tools market.
The survey results, which will be published in the first quarter of 2012, will be an important resource for developers in helping them better understand and plan for the rapidly developing industry. Participants who complete the survey will be entered in a draw for a chance to win an iPad 2 or one of two Kindle Fire devices.  They will also receive a copy of the final report as soon as it’s published.
To take the online survey and have your say, as well as get a chance to win the prizes, just click on this link: www.visionmobile.com/orange

Orange joins forces with Evernote to boost its customers' memories

8 December, Paris

This partnership with Evernote will allow Orange to give its clients a way to remember and easily find everything that's important to them…and even things that aren't.
For one year starting in the first quarter of 2012, all residential and professional Orange subscribers in France who have a mobile or internet contract can enjoy Evernote's premium service free of charge.
Orange already offers its internet and mobile customers a range of everyday digital services through its partnerships with Deezer and Dailymotion, as well as Cloud services like "Mes contenus" (“My Content”) and "Sauvegarde de contacts" ("Contact Backup")

read the full press release

watch the video

Orange reaffirms commitment to child protection

1 December, Paris

The France Telecom-Orange Group has announced it is to be involved with the a better internet for kids initiative launched by Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for the Digital Society, which has been created to encourage action across Europe. The Group undertakes to play an active role in the work that is due to begin soon.

With the explosion of digital usage, protecting children from internet-based risk is becoming a key priority for people. Promoting safe and responsible use of its services is one of France Telecom–Orange’s eight corporate social responsibility priorities. Over the past few years, the Group has pursued an active child-safety policy through awareness and educational initiatives, as well as providing tools giving protected access to online content.

"This initiative is a good means to mobilize all the actors of the ICT value chain at the highest level and to facilitate the development of coherent solutions that meet the valid expectations of society. I also see an excellent opportunity to share the initiatives which Orange already undertakes with children and their families," said Stéphane Richard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of France Telecom-Orange.

download the full press release

find out more about our child safe policy

Orange picks up top awards at World Communication Awards 2011

9 November, World

Orange was awarded three of the telecom industry’s highest accolades, and highly commended in two other awards, at the annual World Communication Awards (WCA), which took place in London on Monday, 8 November.

Orange was awarded Best Mobile Operator while Orange Business Services picked up the Best New Service award for the launch of the Business VPN Galerie cloud service, and the New Shores award for its work with Ministries of Foreign Affairs around the world. Orange Business Services was also highly commended in the Project of the Year (for its Flexible 4 Business cloud partnership) and Best Global Operator categories.

The judges awarded Orange the Best Mobile Operator based on impressive financial results, strong testimonials, effective partnerships with device manufacturers, and the strength of the Orange brand globally.

Vincent Brunet, VP, Mobile Broadband & Marketing at Orange, commented, "It is an absolute honour to accept these awards on behalf of everyone at Orange around the world. We are pleased that our tireless work to become the best mobile operator has received industry-wide recognition at the World Communication Awards 2011."

Business VPN Galerie, a service based on the cloud-ready network of Orange Business Services, was named Best New Service. Business VPN Galerie is the world’s first hub linking Orange VPN customers directly to the world of cloud service providers ensuring access, performance, and high level of security at lower costs than through leased lines. Application suppliers connect to Orange via a dedicated line, which then distributes the applications on demand, making it seamlessly part of a customer’s VPN. Orange launched Business VPN Galerie to facilitate software as a service adoption by providing security and performance guarantees.

Orange Business Services won the New Shores Award based on its exemplary work with Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MoFAs), an elite group of organizations with mission-critical communications needs. MoFAs are using increasingly complex applications that must be supported by a secure, stable, real-time, collaborative and ubiquitous network. Orange Business Services is the ideal provider with the world’s largest MPLS IP VPN reaching 177 countries, including the emerging markets, and currently serves 13 MoFAs around the world.

Celebrating 13 years of corporate and personal success in global communications, the World Communication Awards, recognises significant achievements and developments in the global telecoms industry.

read the full press release

France Telecom-Orange and Publicis Groupe launch vc fund for digital economy

7 November, Paris

France Télécom-Orange and Publicis Groupe have announced plans to launch a new venture capital (vc) fund. The fund will be used to finance and develop budding entrepreneurs in the digital economy, particularly in France and the European Union, building on the sector’s potential for spectacular creativity and growth. It remains subject to the approval of the relevant authorities.

France Télécom-Orange and Publicis Groupe are committed to jointly investing 150 million euros in the new fund. In addition to their respective commitments, the two sponsors are inviting other investors to join them, with a goal of reaching a target of 300 million euros.

The fund’s main targets for investment will be companies focusing on digital technology, content and services. Likely sectors include online marketing, e-commerce, mobile content and services, online gaming and social networks, as well as their associated technologies and infrastructure, such as middleware, cloud computing, security and online payments.

The fund’s investments will be divided into three distinct categories: Seed-capital and early-stage investment will target fledgling companies in France and Europe, with investments of up to one million euros; Later-stage financing for more established companies in France and Europe will provide up to 15 million euros per project: Thirdly, at a later time, the fund may also opt to invest in start-ups outside Europe, alongside American or Asian partner funds.

The new fund will be operated by a management company, with investment decisions made by an Investment Committee independent of both France Télécom-Orange and Publicis Groupe. Details of the fund’s operation and governance will be released at a later date.

read the full press release

Dailymotion launches Graph API for free access to video content

7 November, World

Dailymotion, one of the industry’s leading video-sharing services, is to offer free access to its library of tens of millions videos through a new application programming interface (API). Orange signed a partnership agreement in August this year to deliver advertising across the Dailymotion platform –one of the top 30 most visited sites in the world.

Called Graph API, the new interface enables developers to easily access, publish and modify content from the Dailymotion site and embed it on websites and apps. A feature of the new API is its ability to give a consistent view of the related Dailymotion objects - such as users, videos, playlists - and the connections between them (including friends, user’s posted videos, videos in groups/playlists).

The new API is designed using industry-standard REST principles and uses OAuth as its authentication mec17hanism, which enables websites and apps to access the APIs without end-users disclosing their personal credentials. SDKs are available in most popular languages including Javascript, PHP and Objective-C.

The Graph API expands the Dailymotion family of APIs, which also includes the Player API, a universal player that enables developers to build complete video solutions. By integrating the Graph API with the Player API, developers can create innovative navigation paths through a part of or the whole Dailymotion video library and present them using the Dailymotion universal player while keeping full control on the playback. The Dailymotion universal player is compatible with all desktop browsers, smartphones and most TVs.

Dailymotion achieves 1.4 billion views a month, with 20,000 new videos added each day to the existing 20 million videos available and the site receives 114 million unique visitors a month.

visit website

France Telecom-Orange: third-quarter 2011 results

27 October, France

The France Telecom-Orange Group had a total of 221.0 million customers at 30 September 2011, up 6.3 per cent year on year on a comparable basis. Consolidated revenues for the first nine months of the year were 33.848 billion euros, stable compared to a year earlier (+0.1 per cent on a comparable basis and excluding regulatory measures).

Commenting on the results for the first nine months of 2011, Stéphane Richard, France Telecom-Orange Chairman and CEO, said: “The results for the third quarter continued the solid performance seen in the first half and highlight the resilience of the Group against a backdrop that remains challenging. In France, the good performance reflects the success of our Open and Origami offers and we expect this favorable trend to be maintained following the launch of the Sosh brand at the start of October. We continue to have strong growth in Spain despite the economic conditions, with revenues up more than 7% in the quarter.

While the situation remains complex in Egypt, our activities in the other emerging markets grew almost 4.5%. At the same time, we are reinforcing our position in Africa and the Middle East with the recent acquisition of CCT in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa’s fourth most populous country. Today, the Group has 221 million customers and is on track to reach our target of 300 million in 2015. Overall, the results for the first nine months demonstrate France Telecom–Orange's financial strength, which remains the key to our continued development, and confirms the relevance of our strategic plan, Conquests 2015.

read the full press release

Apps competition targets young and local developers in Morocco

17 October, Morocco

Meditel, the Orange affiliate based in Morocco, has launched an app competition targeted at young developers and local developers. With a top prize of a Toyota Aygo car, and featuring a range of other top prizes, the competition is aimed at encouraging the developer community across Morocco to develop applications of interest to Meditel’s local base of 10 million customers. A further major prize is aimed at students in full-time education and an additional prize of a new computer lab is available for colleges or universities. The deadline for entries is 18 December.

This year’s competition builds on the success of a similar event that ran in 2010 and underlines Meditel’s role as a technology innovator in its home market. "This contest is part of our efforts to further develop local skills and provide real benefits for consumers in Morocco", said Mohamed Elmandjra, CEO of Meditel.

Apps will be reviewed by jury drawn from across the industry in Morocco, who will be considering the submissions based on their innovation, originality and ability to offer real benefits for local consumers. Meditel will assist the winners in launching their apps through its own app distribution channels.

A total of four overall prizes will be awarded, including the overall winning prize of a Toyota Aygo car and a student prize of an Apple MacBook Pro computer with a one-year 3G subscription. Additionally, the prize of a new computer lab will be offered to the school with the largest number of students participating in the contest. Further prizes are also available for other awards.

The contest is open for Android and iOS apps in French or Arabic languages, and has a submission deadline of Sunday, 18 December 2011. A shortlist of 30 finalists will be confirmed on 13 January with the winners announced at the end of February 2012.

visit website

Google says Android now a US$2.5B business

13 October, World

Google has highlighted the ‘huge positive revenue impact’ being made by its Android smartphone OS during the company’s third-quarter 2011 financial results announcement.

CEO Larry Page said Google’s ad revenues through mobile devices was on track to hit US$2.5 billion per annum, a growth of two-and-half times over the previous year. Page declared that 190 million devices had now been activated globally and was upbeat on the platform’s future roadmap. “I'm super excited about the soon-to-be released new version of Android called Ice Cream Sandwich,” he said. “You won't believe what we have managed to get done in this release.”

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Orange and China Telecom sign strategic partnership framework agreement

12 October, France and China

Orange and China Telecom have signed a strategic partnership framework agreement in Beijing in order to make the most of the complementary aspects of their networks and services.

Commencing with the enterprise and wholesale segments, Orange and China Telecom see great advantages in cooperating in the rapidly evolving, global enterprise market and believe a close business relationship will bring benefits to both by leveraging China Telecom’s strengths in China and the Asia Pacific region, and Orange’s distinct geographic reach in Europe and Africa.

Under the agreement, the first areas of cooperation involve providing improved access and services for Orange’s business customers in China and China Telecom’s in Europe; improved access to international cable networks for both parties; and providing WiFi roaming services for both parties’ customers.

read the full press release

Facebook is tool of choice for social app integration

11 October, US

More than 20 percent of apps currently available are ‘socially connected’ via either Facebook or Twitter, according to a study by US-based firm Localytics. Although most publishers choose Facebook as their preferred social media integrations, Twitter users are more active.
Based on its analysis of titles with more than 500 monthly active users during the period from January to July 2011, 95 percent of socially connected apps include Facebook support either alone or alongside Twitter. Twitter is present in 50 percent of socially connected apps, although in most cases it is deployed alongside Facebook – only 5 percent of apps support Twitter alone.
While Facebook is the more popular tool, Twitter drives more traffic, generating 50 events per 1,000 users, compared with 11 per 1,000 for Facebook.

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Orange Business Services launches innovative, cloud-based secure remote access service for any device

3 October, France

Orange Business Services has announced it will continue to enhance its cloud computing portfolio with a new secure remote access service called Flexible SSL, using a Security-as-a-Service model that is based on Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) Junos® Pulse.
Flexible SSL enables secure remote access to a company’s internal IT system from any device via different network connections, such as WiFi, 3G and DSL. This service, which can be opened to different user profiles such as employees or third parties, substantially improves remote user efficiency and productivity without jeopardizing security.

read the full press release

Orange is partnering with the Ministry of Higher Education in France to help provide students with digital equipment

30 September, France

Orange has launched a limited edition ‘Let’s go’ Proxima Student plan, enabling students to equip themselves with the touch screen tablet of their choice together with a mobile broadband package (1 Gb per month) for just 1 euro per day.
This offer was created to help facilitate the lives of students by enabling them to share reading materials, gain access to millions of scientific reviews and reference books, take part in interactive preparation of exams and essays (videoconference, chat), and enjoy personalized services that will help ensure success in their studies. The ‘Let’s go’ plan puts the full potential of the digital world at your fingertips using the most up-to-date technology that is both lighter than a computer and handier than a phone.

read the full press release

Amazon said to be close to acquiring webOS assets from HP

29 September, US

Amazon.com is said to be in advanced negotiations with Hewlett-Packard to acquire the webOS assets HP still holds from its $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm, according to a report by VentureBeat, the US-based venture capital blog.
The VentureBeat report quotes a ‘well-placed source’, saying that other companies were vying for the Palm assets but that Amazon was the closest to finalizing a deal. HP and Amazon declined to comment, according to the report.

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French 4G spectrum auction raises almost EUR1B

23 September, France

French comms regulator Arcep has published details of how the 4G licenses for the 2.6GHz frequency band have been allocated, following bids made on 15 September. Orange, the number one operator in France, has been allocated a duplex frequency block of 20MHz at a cost of just over EUR287million (US$388 million) and has committed to hosting MVNOs on its network.

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Google to push iPhone off US smartphone pedestal by end of year

14 September, US

Google's Android phone will have toppled the iPhone from first place in the US by the end of 2011, a report by eMarketer, the US-based digital marketing research firm has revealed. Android will be installed on 37% of all smartphone handsets in the country by year end, up 13% from 2010.
The growth in Android usage comes mostly at the expense of RIM's BlackBerry, which eMarketer predicts will drop to 15% of the market in 2013 from 30% in 2010. Shares for Microsoft's and other competitors' operating systems, including Nokia's Symbian, will also dwindle over the forecast period.
In terms of users, Android will more than double again this year after posting 496% growth in 2010. eMarketer estimates the number of Android users will rise to 50.4 million in 2013 from 33.4 million this year. The iOS user population will also grow substantially, from 26.1 million this year to 38.4 million in 2013.

Niche platforms provide better app opportunity

8 September, US

The average app built on a more niche app platform – including BlackBerry, Symbian or WP7 - has a better chance of being downloaded than those for the more hyped iOS and Android platforms, according to a survey from Research2guidance. According to the company’s Smartphone App Market Monitor, apps in Nokia’s Ovi store were two and a half times more popular in terms of download numbers than apps on Apple’s App Store. Research2guidance puts this trend down to less competition on these platforms combined with a sufficiently large user base to generate a significant number of downloads.

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Orange Business Services to increase network capacity across Latin America tenfold

29 August, France and Brazil

Orange Business Services is to increase the capacity of its Latin American network by ten times as a result of growing demand from its multinational enterprise customers. Implementation will begin in October 2011, covering Brazil and Chile, followed by Argentina, Peru and Panama. The upgraded network will accommodate customers' needs for expanding high-speed broadband services, including MPLS (IP VPN and Business VPN), International Ethernet Link and video services, such as Telepresence.
The new network ring will connect Latin America to the East Coast of the United States via Brazil and to the West Coast of the United States via Chile (through Peru and Panama). The upgrade will enhance quality of service for customers with improved latency to the West Coast, while also supporting the growing capacity requirements from Asia-Pacific.

read the full press release

Orange to Offer iPad 2 in eight additional European countries

17 August, World

Orange today announced that it will sell iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G in Austria, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Additionally Orange will launch a range of attractive tariff plans tailored for iPad. All data plans will be available without a contract, providing the freedom to activate or cancel a plan at any time. Orange already offers iPad 2 in its French and UK stores.

“We're excited Orange’s 1,200 retail stores will have dedicated iPad 2 areas and trained staff to help customers choose the best solution for their needs," said Cynthia Gordon, VP Mobile Partnerships, Orange. “Our widespread 3G networks and excellent broadband capacity will provide an outstanding mobile experience to iPad customers and we're certain iPad will be a great success across the Orange footprint.”

read the full press release

new apps keep Orange customers up to date on mobile spend

9 August, France

Orange has extended its portfolio of apps with the launch of Orange Travel and an updated version of Orange et Moi. The free apps are available in France for Android phones from the Orange App Shop and Android Market. iPhone versions are set to follow later in August and will be available via the App Store. 

Orange Travel, initially available for Orange France’s customers, checks how much customers have spent when using their smartphone abroad. As soon as the user leaves France, Orange Travel creates a log, recording the time and money spent on the mobile network. The log is closed as soon as the user returns to France. Cleverly, using the app does not require a 3G or wifi connection even when travelling abroad, so a customer can check without incurring additional cost.

Orange et Moi, available for Orange France and Orange Business Services’ customers, enables users to check at any time how much they’ve spent and read tips to make the most of their usage. Subscribers to the recently introduced Origami plan can check how many Mb of data they’ve used – and how much they have left before they should top up.

read the full press release

Orange and Google partner to speed up the spread of innovative SMS-based services in Africa

27 July, World

Orange and Google today announced a strategic partnership that will leverage Orange’s SMS platform to bring Google’s services to African customers. This agreement marks an important step forward that will facilitate access to the growing mobile internet market in Africa.

With a total customer base of around 60 million customers across the continent, Orange is one of the most powerful mobile operators in Africa and the Middle East today. Innovations such as Orange Money have already demonstrated that mobile technology can improve the lives of African customers and help businesses grow.

Through the development of SMS-based services that operate on all mobile networks (including GSM), Orange and Google will extend the reach of a wide range of internet services that were previously limited to smartphone and broadband users (through 3G, CDMA or WiMax networks) to all Orange mobile customers.

read the full press release

Orange APIs power new My Star social app

19 July, World

Mobile Pie has launched an enhanced version of Orange's popular My Star app incorporating Orange APIs directly into the gaming experience. Using SMS, interactive voice and email APIs together with geo-tagging via Facebook, My Star now enables players to directly interact with other players and the local environment. 

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Orange launches le cloud pro: new opportunities for SaaS providers

30 June, France

le cloud pro, launched in beta in France, is a new service launched alongside the Orange broadband offering that offers a wide selection of SaaS solutions for professionals and small businesses. The launch of le cloud pro brings a new opportunity for SaaS providers to tap into Orange’s position as a France’s leading provider of business broadband solutions and leverage the benefits of its single sign-on, single billing route and single support network.

find out more or

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Orange Selects boosts app visibility for developers

12 June, UK

UK-based Orange customers are now getting a simpler and more secure way to find and pay for content on their WP7-powered phones. Launched in early June, Orange Selects is the new area of Windows Phone Marketplace reserved just for Orange customers. It enables Orange customers to cut through the clutter of today’s current application store offerings by presenting them with a range of specially selected apps, which are chosen for their usefulness and relevance to the customer. This new concept is of particular benefit to developers and content providers as their apps will get greater visibility, boosting download and sales opportunities. Customers also benefit from the security and convenience of being able to defer any payment to their Orange mobile bill when paying for content.

The UK joins France in launching a ‘shop-in-shop’ experience for Orange customers after the launch of Orange sélection earlier this year. This concept underlines the Orange commitment to work as a digital ‘coach’ for its customers, helping them find the solutions that will give them a rewarding, safe and personal digital experience. This new deal is the latest step forward in the strategic partnership between Microsoft and Orange.

Want to get your WP7 apps to Orange customers?

Just email us at developers@orange.com and we’ll let you know how to do it.

Android still favourite for developers, but is WP set to topple iOS?

8 June, World

Google’s Android is still the favourite among mobile software developers, ahead of Apple’s iOS ecosystem according to research firm VisionMobile. The 2011 edition of the Developer Economics survey found that 67 per cent of developers polled are working with the Google platform, up from 59 per cent in 2010. The gain helped Android to maintain its developer lead over iOS, which rose from 50 to 59 per cent over the same period.

However, the biggest shift in next year’s report may come, not from any of the top platforms named this year, but from Windows Phone. The survey found that 35 per cent of developers intend to use the Microsoft platform, second overall behind Android and ahead of iOS.

It’s a position that’s endorsed by research firm IDC, who this month predicted that Android will still be ruling the worldwide smartphone landscape in 2015. By this time IDC expects the number two spot to be claimed by Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. IDC forecasts it will claim more than 20 per cent by 2015 once it replaces Symbian as Nokia’s primary smartphone OS.

read the Vision Mobile article

read the IDC abstract

Orange and Barclaycard launch smartphone payment service

20 May, World

Orange and Barclaycard have launched the UK's first contactless payment service allowing customers to pay for purchases using a smartphone. Orange Quick Tap allows payments of up to £15 ($25) in over 50,000 outlets around the country, including Pret A Manger, McDonald's and Subway. Customers need to use a Samsung Tocco Lite smartphone to use the service, which incorporates near-field communication (NFC) technology for the contactless payment. It’s believed that this could be the the first of many services as NFC becomes a common feature on Android, BlackBerry and possibly Apple devices. Analyst firm Juniper Research predicted that NFC will be built into one in five smartphones by 2014 as mobile payment and interactive promotions take off. Over 23 million NFC-capable smartphones are expected to be in circulation by the end of 2011, according to Juniper.

read the press release