Orange

Visitors to the UK's best-known music festival are almost guaranteed three things - mud, loud music and a dead mobile device battery. Happily, Orange has increased the number of Chill 'n' Charge tents to help make sure lines of communication stay open and - in what is now becoming as much of a tradition as Glastonbury itself - the company has announced the development of a new green charging technology. Previous projects have included a Power Pump and last year's Orange Power Wellies, and the latest prototype charger is no less impressive. As the name may indicate, the Sound Charge t-shirt turns sound waves into electric charge, allowing the wearer to top up a device battery while thrashing around in the mosh pit. Read More

Orange Amps has announced that its OPC computer-in-an-amp will be used in a world record attempt at this year's CES in Las Vegas. Guitarist Tiago Della Vega will attempt to break his own speed and accuracy record on Friday January 7. The company has also taken the opportunity to release final specs and pricing for its soon-to-be-released new baby. Read More

European Telco Orange is showing off an interesting phone charging prototype – a set of Wellington Boots with a ‘power generating sole’ that converts heat from your feet into electrical power to charge your battery-powered handhelds. You'll need to walk for twelve hours in your “Orange Power Wellies” to get an hour of battery life but we still think it's remarkable that such significant amounts of energy can be harvested from normal human activity. In order to decrease the length of time you need to charge your phone, try dancing or running, because the hotter your feet get, the more energy you produce. Read More

Ever since services like the original Napster brought free (albeit illegal) music downloads to the world, the music industry has been quick to point the finger at pirates but slow to realize that digital content is clearly the way forwards. Since then, download services such as iTunes and streaming services like Spotify have introduced new business models to the masses and Orange is the latest to come up with an innovative new way to listen to tunes on the move. Read More

Come on, be honest - wouldn’t you love to make some of those childish dreams of secret agent covert ops finally come true? Because Orange has just announced that, from next month, they’re making available the ultimate gadget: the world’s first touch-screen watch phone. The LG GD910 is 3G and video-calling capable, with in-built speaker, Bluetooth headset and full touch-screen interface. Read More

The future of music festival tenting has arrived. Well, not actually arrived as such. Let me start again. The concept of music festival tenting for the future has arrived. Following on from the foot pump powered mobile phone charger announced earlier this month, telecommunications giant Orange is using its regular slot at the UK's most talked about music festival to announce its vision of ultra-comfortable camping for lovers of all things live and musical... and solar power is just the beginning. Read More

LG’s wristwatch videophone that first piqued our interest when it appeared at CES 2009 has been given a release date. Dick Tracy wannabes will be able to live out their fantasies when the LG-GD910 Touch Watch Phone goes on sale from July. The GD-910 will initially be exclusively available through Orange UK and Carphone Warehouse before hitting Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and Latin America. There’s no announcement as to whether a yellow coat and fedora will be included with the Touch Watch Phone. Read More

Mobile operator Orange and renewable energy specialists GotWind know they’ve hit on a good, marketable idea. The companies have joined forces for a third consecutive year to showcase their outdoor charging solution at next month's Glastonbury Festival, the United Kingdom’s largest and hippest open-air music bash. This year Orange has unveiled a mobile phone charger prototype it’s calling the Orange Power Pump. By treading on what is essentially a standard camping air foot-pump, the kinetic energy created drives a small turbine inside the Power Pump. The energy is converted into electrical current, which recharges the mobile phone. The idea is not only simple, it cleverly encourages you to dance and charge your mobile at the same time. Read More

With around four billion mobile phones in use world wide at the end of 2008 they now outnumber credit cards in circulation by a factor of 2:1, so the proliferation of payment systems based on the ubiquitous mobile phone seems almost a certainly. We've previously reported on Near Field Communication (NFC), a new generation of mobile phones able to make contactless payments and now UK mobile phone operator Orange is partnering with businesses to offer a complete range of contactless services. Read More