Orange Launches New Widget Experience and Expands Multi-Platform Application Shop

Paris (ots/PRNewswire) - Orange today announces new and
easy ways for customers to get more from their mobile, widening
access to mobile content via simple widget services and exciting
multimedia applications.

Orange's brand new widgets

Orange is launching a new range of mobile widgets, giving
customers instant access to useful information via their Orange
Homescreens. It is bringing a selection of simple, connected mobile
widgets, such as weather updates and news alerts to its entire
Signature customer base, as part of Orange's new mobile multimedia
strategy to help customers do more with their phone.

"Orange wants all of its customers to benefit from access to
compelling content, not just the current few with sophisticated and
multi-functional phones," said Yves Maitre, SVP Devices, Orange.
"With our new 'out of the box' widget experience, customers can
simply turn on their phone and choose from a great selection of
services via their Homescreen. By simplifying and widening access to
these services, we are driving usage by helping more customers find
new and useful things to do with their mobiles."

Orange's widget experience will be launched in May 2009 and
rolled out across all European markets. Orange will be able to offer
its customers a widget experience across 80% of its Signature phone
range by the end of 2009. In the future, Orange will open the widget
catalogue to select third party developers and publishers to give
customers even more choice.

Orange Application Shop extended

For those that want to browse, choose and personalise their
mobile content, the Orange Application Shop (available through Orange
Downloads and Orange World) is being extended to support more
operating systems throughout 2009, breaking down barriers to create
the world's first truly cross-platform experience.

In addition to Signature services like Orange TV and Liveradio,
the Orange Application Shop will focus on offering fun applications
like astrology tools (horoscopes), magic tricks, puzzles and quizzes
as well as practical tools such as language dictionaries, currency
converters and business services from third party providers.

The Orange Application Shop first launched on the mobile in
November 2008 in the UK and France, and is being rolled out across
Orange's footprint in 2009. In the UK alone, sales of applications
via Orange Downloads in the UK went up by 277%* within the first four
weeks, proving its popularity and ease of use.

Yves concludes, "We're putting our customers firmly in the
driving seat, whether they just talk and text, browse and email or
download and share. With the new widget experience and expanding
Orange Application Shop, any customer can find content and services
personally relevant to them, for the phone they have."

Today's announcement is the first step in Orange's ambition to
make mobile multimedia available for everyone. Orange's five year
heritage within the developer community with Orange Partner
Programme, and its open approach to multimedia development, will help
to achieve that goal.

*compared to the online Orange Application Shop monthly
download figures

For more information about Orange visit
http://www.orange.com/en_EN/group/

ots Originaltext: Orange
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For further information, please contact: Orange, Vanessa Clarke,
+44(0)7891-056-593, vanessa.clarke@orange-ftgroup.com; Georgina Hart,
+44-7730-989-693, georgina.hart@orange-ftgroup.com