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February 2008 |
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hello ...
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2008 – and what an exciting year it promises to be…
"When's your next Partner Camp?" That's a question I've been asked many times over the past few months. Well, we have the answer: 14 – 16 April 2008 in Faro, Portugal.
Partner Camp will be a great opportunity for you to meet with Orange and the France Telecom Group face-to-face, to learn about the technical and commercial aspects of working with us across all areas; mobile, fixed-line and broadband. There are also lots of new developments at Orange that we'd like to share with you at Partner Camp. Read on and find out more. |
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Also in this month's newsletter we're launching our brand new Developer Play Zone on the Orange Partner website. We want you, our developer community, to get involved, have a 'play' and provide us with feedback.
We've also provided you with an update of our market competitiveness, with an insight into our customer numbers worldwide by area (mobile, fixed-line and broadband) and a quick update on mobile ARPU rates by operator across Europe.
Plus, find out what's new in the Orange Application Shop (which is now fully up-and running in the UK). There's lots going on behind the scenes with the Shop in the UK and we're also well underway with the European roll-out. We need your 'hot apps', and are happy to provide you with plenty of help to get them to us.
Kind regards, Steve Glagow |
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New – Developer Play Zone
Play with some Orange services under development, and let us know what you think
We've developed a new section of the Orange Partner website: the Developer Play Zone. It's an area where developers can play around with ideas, products and tools from Orange.
We really want to know what you think, and in return for your feedback, we'll give you support while you develop.
The first services to go into the Play Zone were an email API and an sms API. Both are free APIs in alpha mode, allowing you to integrate email and sms functionality into your web application using the Orange UK and France mobile and broadband networks.
You'll also be able to let your imagination run wild with our Contact Everyone service (for which we've developed an API), plus the Bubbletop webtop and blogtop and our Pikeo photo sharing service….
There's more to come. The Developer Play Zone is an appetizer for some APIs and other services to be revealed at Partner Camp this year.
Developers: Take a look at the Play Zone now >
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Create a widget – and win a trip to Australia
We need widgets, and are giving you the incentive to create them
Our friends within the France Telecom Group looking after the 'Bubbletop by Orange' webtop and blogtop need your widgets … and they're prepared to incentivise you to produce them.
A trip to Australia for two is the top prize on offer.
Interested? Find out more about Bubbletop, the kind of widgets we're interested in, and the Bubbletop Foundry in the Developer Play Zone and then click on the Contest information at http://gallery.bubbletop.com/gallery_uk.php
Good luck!
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Application Shop – what's new for 2008?
We're looking for applications for new categories, new devices and new OSs
We're expanding into the business market as well as the consumer market for the UK version of the Orange Application Shop. To support this we've added the new 'sales and field tools' category and we're now also looking for 'games' for BlackBerry devices only.
So if you have 'hot apps' that fit into these categories - fast-track them to us now >
(Please note: we're re-introducing the 'fast-track your apps' system for a limited period.)
We're also about to launch the Shop on Microsoft and BlackBerry OSs. Plus, to support the European roll-out we're looking for apps that are also available in French, Flemmish, Romanian and Spanish.
Since the launch of the Application Shop in the UK we've been busy improving the visibility of the Shop on the WAP site, so customers have an even better user-experience when purchasing mobile apps.
We're also working on securing promotional slots for your apps and particularly for those we think are unique and that will sell really well.
We're also compiling detailed analysis of what sells and when; information that we'll be sharing with out premium members and contracted partners in the near future, to help you further-refine the types of applications you're submitting to us.
To find out more about the Application Shop – click here >
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Fast-track your apps – go to market with Orange
We're doing it again: between 8th Feb and 31st March, fast-track your apps.
We've been inundated with requests to repeat the 'fast-track' process for getting your downloadable mobile apps into the Orange Application Shop. So, we're re-introducing it for the first quarter of 2008.
Between 8th February and 31st March, we'll once again offer you the opportunity to fast-track your downloadable mobile applications into the Orange Application Shop.
You can potentially go to market with Orange (in a matter of weeks).
Provide us with a quick summary of your application. We'll review it and if we think it will sell, we'll speed you through our usual submission process and, if necessary, help you with your industry standard and Orange Compatibility testing.
In just a few short weeks your application could be available to over 15 million Orange customers in the UK alone.
All submissions will receive a response within ten working days.
If you need to be reminded about the benefits of the Application Shop take a look at the section on our website >
If, once you've fast-tracked your app you'd like us to hand-hold you through the commercial and technical steps from submission to launch face-to-face, you can join us at Orange Partner Camp, Faro 14-16 April 2008.
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New devices on the website – download the specifications
Check-out a sample of the new devices we've added to the Orange Partner website this month.
Orange Berlin
Berlin is a 3G handset with FM radio and a 2-megapixel camera among its features. It has 80Mb of built-in memory and support for microSD cards if you want to add more. It'll synchronise Outlook with your PC and comes with the software and cable you need to do the job.
This is a neat little black number, with a rubberised casing that feels comfortable in the hand. It is a slider. It sports Orange's nifty little menu-based Home screen, though there's also a Menu key that'll take you out to a standard icon-based menu if you'd rather use that.
Orange Tokyo
Tokyo is a dual-band handset with a mere 1.3 megapixels to its camera. It has 0.7MB of built-in memory, but comes with a 512MB microSD card and mobile email.
In fact, the key selling point of Tokyo is its tiny size. At 68g and just 92x35x14.5mm it is weeny. It is no problem to stash in a pocket, and the designers have come up with a number pad which, while small, is relatively easy to use thanks to its individually designed and very well marked keys.
Samsung i780
This is a 3.5G device with HSDPA data giving a maximum download speed of 3.6 megabits per second, and on top of UMTS, EDGE and GPRS the Samsung i780 also has WiFi and of course Bluetooth.
Not only does the Samsung i780 have fast data connections, but it also as inbuilt GPS (global positioning system) support, a 2.6" 320x320 pixel touchscreen display, a well laid out BlackBerry style keypad and a two megapixel primary camera with a secondary VGA unit for video calling. The SGH-i780's memory is expandable using microSD cards.
See all the available device specs – click here >
If you'd like to be informed about new devices on a weekly basis, subscribe to the Orange Partner RSS feed. Click here to find out more >
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Symbian Signed – new Express Signed
A new option to get your Symbian OS™ C++ application Symbian Signed™ without involving a test house
Express Signed was announced in November 2007 as one of three new, simplified signing options available to developers, supported by a new (and lower cost) Certificate Authority.
- Open Signed, has updated and replaced Developer Certificate signing, making it easy for developers to sign applications for limited deployment to known devices, either for testing or for personal use. The online-only option is coming soon.
- Express Signed, a new option similar to Self Certification, is available to all developers, either directly (for those who own a Publisher ID), or via publisher partners (for those who do not).
- Certified Signed, has updated and replaced the mainstream signing option based on independent testing by a Symbian accredited Test House.
You can find out more about how we work with Symbian to provide value; information and tools for our members on the Orange Partner website – click here >
Did you know?
A member of the Orange Partner team sits on the Symbian Operatory Review board, which meets every 6 months. So, if you have comments and feedback regarding the new Symban Signing process then email us at developers@orange.com with 'symbian_signed' in the subject line.. . and we'll be sure to pass them on.
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Mobile ARPU third quarter 07 decline – curbed by data
Data comes to the rescue of voice
According to this article by Orange Badim the fall in average revenue per user (ARPU) was confirmed in Q2'07 in Europe, with a 5% drop compared with Q2'06.
A good deal of this decline can be attributed to the widespread offering of unlimited services which, despite stabilising operator revenue, does not foster revenue creation by customers in the long term.
This voice decline has meant that data accounts for a larger proportion of operator revenue, as is the case with Italian operators. This trend has also been bolstered by the major rollout of unlimited offers on mobile data services.
Read the full article and get the full blended ARPU rates and data as a percentage of blended ARPU across the European Operators.
Download now >
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Orange – 167 million customers worldwide
Read this article published by Orange Badim and find out where the Orange brand operates and the locations of our biggest markets.
If you're an existing contracted partner or in the process of working with us, find out which are our biggest markets and take a look at our subscriber base. Also find out where Orange mobile, fixed and internet operations exist.
Orange France remains our largest market with 23.504 million subscribers, the UK is 15.400 million followed by Spain with 10.921 million subscribers.
Download the full figures now >
Don't forget that if you want to work with Orange and the France Telecom Group come along to Orange Partner Camp, Faro and we'll hand-hold you through the process, face-to-face.
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Orange Partner Camp, Faro, Portugal - 14-16 April 2008
We've announced the date and destination.
We're really excited to be announcing the dates and destination of the 1st Partner Camp of 2008.
We've been working hard to gather feedback on what you need for this event and what we as a business can do to maximise the value we'll deliver to you.
So, if you're serious about doing business with Orange and the France Telecom group then this is THE event of the Spring to be at!
Voyage with us and we'll hand-hold you through the process of doing business with Orange and the France Telecom group.
Along the journey we'll all innovate, learn, discover and network amongst our peers...
…Business and consumer downloadable mobile applications providers
…Service enablers and platform providers
…Converged solution providers
…Publishers and aggregators
…Systems integrators and ISVs
You'll be able to register from Wednesday 13th February.
But, places will be limited and we know from our last event that there was some disappointment amongst our members who were not able to join us as they registered too late. So, send an email to developers@orange.com with 'partner_camp' in the subject line, and we'll send you a reminder on 13th.
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Are you reading off of the same page as your fellow newsletter subscribers?
The Orange Partner newsletter is the best way for our members to regularly keep up with the latest market and technology developments from Orange and the mobile industry.
To help you keep up to date we've collated the top 5 stories and articles from the newsletter and website that were of interest to our members last month (compiled using clicks per page analysis).
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