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Orange Barcelona QWERTY Android Phone Coming to the UK, Priced at 119 Quid

James A. — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:49:47 +0000

Orange is preparing a new affordable Android handset, dubbed the Barcelona, that will be available for free with a 24 months contract of at least 15 quid per month. However, you can also get this QWERTY handset for 119 quid with a 20 quid top up, that will be removed if you have an Orange PAYG account.

Huawei makes this model, that comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera, HSDPA, Bluetooth, HD Voice, GPS and Orange Maps. Orange Barcelona is capable of video calling, it comes with FM radio and Android 2.2 Froyo. The device measures 9.9mm in thickness and it’s quite a solid option for someone looking to join the Android bandwagon with a low price.

Apple Wants Smaller SIM, Supported by Orange

Radu Iorga — Wed, 18 May 2011 08:23:06 +0000

After implementing a smaller SIM card on the iPhone 4 and iPad, Apple wants an even tinier card on the next-gen devices, so it has proposed a new standard for SIMs. Orange is backing up the Cupertino giant, according to Reuters.

Apple has submitted its requirements to the European telecoms standards body and it’s now waiting for the approval, that could take a while. We could be seeing device with this technology on board next year, if the proposal goes through. Orange mentions that some other major mobile operators are also supporting this initiative, so Apple has some serious backing here.

At this rate, the SIM card will become as easy to misplace as the microSD card, or maybe we’ll see iPhones with embedded cards soon, something that many users have feared for years.

Motorola Atrix Now Available on Orange UK

Radu Iorga — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:51:40 +0000

Motorola Atrix, one of the handsets we played with during Mobile World Congress in February is now available in the UK via Orange. We’re dealing with a 4 inch capacitive touchscreen device, protected by a Corning Gorilla glass and sporting a 960 x 540 qHD resolution.

Atrix is also capable of WiFi, DLNA, HSDPA, Bluetooth and it comes with a microSD slot. Under the hood there’s a 1GHz dual core CPU and this device runs Android 2.2 Froyo, plus it has the ability the function as a mobile computer by working with a dock. The Motorola newcomer packs a 5 megapixel camera with flash and HD video capture, accompanied by a front cam for videocalling.

Pricing is a mystery, but it might be around 30 quid with a 30 year contract. You can get it from here.

Orange and Vodafone Romania Fined 63.1 Million EUR for Unfair Competition

James A. — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:24:35 +0000

Local authorities in Romania have fined Orange and Vodafone with a total of 63.1 million euros for abusing their dominance on the market, according to Mobilissimo. The investigation started in 2006, after a complaint from fixed telecom service provider Netmaster Communications.

Allegations claim that both Vodafone Romania and Orange Romania didn’t want to provide access to their networks for the people at Netmaster. The result of this action is a fine of 3% of the amount cashed by the carrier in 2010, 34.8 million euros for Orange and 28.3 million for Vodafone. To put it short, in the 2004-2006 time frame, the users of Netmaster’s services couldn’t call Vodafone and Orange clients, being deprived of this feature.

Both carriers have expressed their surprise and discontent concerning this decision and said that there’s no reason for it. It’s very likely the companies will reply with a lawsuit and in case their fines are suspended, the carriers will still have to pay 30% of the amount pending trial.

Orange Launches Cheap Android 2.1 Touch Phone in France

Radu Iorga — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:38:34 +0000

Orange has just launched a fresh and cheap product in its homeland, France: an Android 2.1 smartphone with a touch display. This unit is called the Tactile Internet and comes with very much the same specs as the HTC Tattoo model. They include a 2.8 inch QVGA screen and a 3.2 megapixel camera.

Also, Tactile Internet comes with HDSPA and WiFi, Bluetooth, FM radio, a 3.5mm audio jack, 256MB of internal memory and a microSD card slot. A 2GB memory card will be bundled with the unit and we have to mention that this smartphone measures 13.8mm in thickness and weighs 104 grams.

Orange plans on selling the phone for one euro on contract and we’re betting they’ll get some impressive sales out of it.

[via IntoMobile]

Orange Prepping Project JAL Android Phone

James A. — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:17:52 +0000

Orange has recently announced that it’ll release a budget Android phone in the following months, according to TechRadar. The initiative bears the name of Project JAL and we’ve heard that the phone will run Android 2.1/Eclair and feature a 3.5 inch OLED touch display, plus a 3 megapixel camera.

Its price will be somewhere within the £100 and £150 price range. TechRadar suggests that this device will be an alternative for T-Mobile’s Pulse Mini and Vodafone’s 845 model, not a surprise to anyone out there. Orange is also keen on launching more phones of this kind (with Android and affordable prices), so we might hear more from them soon.

[via recombu]

Orange Nokia N8 Hands On Revealed (Video)

Radu Iorga — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:26:02 +0000

If you’re looking for a hands-on video of Nokia N8, the Orange version, you’ll find it below, uploaded by Camb078. You’ll notice that homescreen swiping is much faster, the app scrolling is smoother and the overall experience is faster.

Pinch and zoom is smooth, too, although it’s a strange experience if you’re into one handed use. The T9 keyboard supports portrait view and please, can someone tell us what the gasp at the end of the video is all about? Some new feature revealed or something?

Credit goes to Pablo Zárate.

[via mynokiablog]

Samsung Galaxy Apollo i5801 Officially Confirmed by Orange UK

James A. — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:07:43 +0000

Samsung Galaxy Apollo was recently announced officially by Orange UK, with the carrier posting information bout the handset on its website. You can see the device pictured below and detailed/specced after the break.

Samsung Galaxy Apollo features 3G connectivity, a 13mm slim case, it runs Android and features a 3.2 inch touchscreen display. There’s also a 3 megapixel camera with autofocus on board, FM radio, an MP3 player, WiFi, Bluetooth and USB. The phone weighs 113 grams and supports microSD memory cards.

[via mobile review]

Orange “Boston” Android Phone Gets Detailed

James A. — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 08:41:26 +0000

Here’s yet another Android phone, this one that doesn’t benefit from the fame of a famous maker. Dubbed Orange Boston, this phone should be available for one euro on Orange, all over Europe, plus contract, of course. Apparently, Boston was designed and manufactured for Orange by Chinese company Foxconn, the iPhone maker.

Orange Boston packs a 3.2 inch touchscreen display, with a 480 x 320 pixel resolution, WiFi 802.11 b/g, a Qualcomm 600 MHz processor, 256MB RAM and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. There’s also a GPS on board, plus a microSD card slot and a 5 megapixel camera.

The OS of choice for Boston is Android 1.6, but we hope it’ll get an upgrade ASAP.

[via eurodroid]

Orange Announces Support for Intel-Nokia MeeGo Platform

James A. — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:19:49 +0000

Remember MeeGo? Announced back at Mobile World Congress 2010, the platform made by Nokia and Intel is tempting enough to have the mobile operator Orange announce a partnership based on it. We remind you that MeeGo merges Nokia and Intel’s Linux initiatives, Maemo and Moblin, respectively.

Thanks to the new partnership, Orange will deliver multimedia services on a number of Intel Atom-based devices, using the MeeGo platform. This includes smartphones, netbooks and tablets, all with support for Orange TV, Orange Maps and Orange Signature Services.

It will be interesting to see Nokia Maps competing with Orange Maps, in spite of the two companies working together.

[via mobilebusinessbriefing]