Orange Combines Over-the-Air Music Download With Web Access for Ultimate Music Experience

Orange Combines Over-the-Air Music Download With Web Access for Ultimate Music Experience

LONDON, October 20/PRNewswire/ --

- New features include online preview, purchase and playlist management; phone synch and track converter for conversion of digital music and transfer to your Orange phone

- Orange backs up all your tracks downloaded ensuring music stays with you even if you upgrade, or lose your handset

- Over the air full track music downloads from just GBP1.00(1) from Orange Music Player

Orange today announced the launch of the UK's first web integrated mobile music download service. The service allows management, storage and preview of tracks from the Orange Music catalogue, and enables the transfer of digital music (e.g. MP3) from PCs to Orange phones. The new music service, available on 1st November, is being launched across the Orange range of 11 'great for music' handsets including three 3G handsets for super fast download, all of which are priced from free on contract.

"Further to Strategy Analytics' wireless benchmark survey, which placed Music Player as the best in class service in the UK, we have taken feedback from all areas to enhance our service even further," said Mark Ashford, head of music, Orange UK. "We have listened to critics and consumers alike and introduced web based previewing, storing, managing and purchasing of music. The new Music Player features are a huge leap forward in mobile music delivery and web integration, and demonstrate our commitment to pushing the boundaries of mobile music experience. We want to demonstrate a total music experience for our customers. You have to ask the question, why buy a separate music device this Christmas, when everything you need is on an Orange phone?"

Manage tracks online

Music Player is accompanied by Music Player Manager, a web based companion that synchronises with the Orange phone, allowing users to manage music files and create personal playlists online before transferring them to their mobile. Orange customers can also use Music Player Manager to access, preview and purchase music online from the 300,000 tracks available. (Increasing to half a million tracks available by Christmas).

The new service also allows for complete track back-up, ensuring their purchased tracks and playlists can be retrieved should their handset be upgraded, lost or stolen. Users can log onto Music Player Manager at: www.orange.co.uk/music

Convert digital music from your PC

The new Music Player also features Track Converter, an application which users can download to their PC. Track Converter enables Music Player users to convert MP3, WMA and WAV files into the mobile format (aac Plus) and upload to the handset, whilst complying with anti-piracy digital rights management regulations.

Great for music handset range

The full range of 11 handsets include both 3G and 2.5G handsets. On November 1st the music hero handset, the SPV C550, will launch with a stereo jack for connectivity to standard headphones and a stereo cable, allowing users to plug into a home stereo. Dedicated music hard-keys give direct access to music and playlists and allow users to play, pause, skip forward and skip back at the touch of a button.

The handset, which runs on the Windows Mobile operating system, also features one of the best speakerphones found on any mobile. The SPV C550 boasts 64MB of internal memory with an additional 512MB Mini SD card providing enough combined capacity to store approximately 700 tracks.

Customers wishing to store more music can either buy a larger memory card from an Orange store, or use Music Player Manager to swap tracks to and from the phone.

Customers with 'great for music' handsets can download the new Music Player for free from Orange World and as part of the Orange TRY before you buy offer will be able to download 5 tracks free.(2) Music Player is available to both contract and Pay-As-You-Go customers from 1st November 2005, with users paying GBP3.00 for three tracks.(1)

1) As part of the Orange 3 tracks for GBP3 deal. Individual tracks are priced at GBP1.50 each

2) Until 31st December 2005, any customer who uses Music Player for the first time will receive 5 free tracks

Great for music handsets compatible with Music Player 2.1:

2.5G handsets:

- Orange SPV C550 - Orange SPV C500 - Nokia 3230 - Nokia 7610 - Nokia 6600 - Sony Ericsson P800 - Sony Ericsson P900 - Sony Ericsson P910

3G handsets:

- Nokia 6630 - Nokia 6680 - Nokia N70 (released later this month)

About Orange

Orange, wirefree and any other Orange product or service referred to in this release are trademarks of Orange Personal Communications Services Ltd.

In the UK, Orange provides high quality GSM coverage to 99% of the UK population, and offers roaming to pay monthly customers on 393 networks in 156 countries and to pay as you go customers on 131 networks in 67 countries.

At the end of June 2005, Orange had over 14.4 million active UK customers.

In May 2005, Orange gained the top ranking for customer satisfaction among mobile phone contract customers in the annual J.D.Power and Associates 2005 UK Mobile Telephone Customers Satisfaction Study. It is the seventh time Orange has been ranked top by the study.

In October 2005, Orange won the Mobile Choice Consumer Awards - voted for by readers of Mobile Choice magazine - for Best Network Operator for the fifth year running.

In the same month, Orange also won Best International Mobile Operator at the World Communications Awards. The judges said: "Orange is so solid, you cannot expect more."

Information about Orange can be found on the Orange website at www.orange.co.uk and media information can be found at www.orange.com

Source: Orange

For further information, call the Orange media centre on +44(0)20-7984-2000 or +44(0)7973-201911

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