Orange Makes Topping Up Fun With The Launch of Bright Top Ups

Orange Makes Topping Up Fun With The Launch of Bright Top Ups Customers now have a 1 in 3 chance of winning a prize every time they top up with Orange Pay As You Go ‚Fun in the sun’ themed prizes include European and UK mini breaks, VIP tickets to Glastonbury, mountain bikes, and theme park tickets Non-prize winners are entitled to a 2 for 1 voucher to top UK attractions including Alton Towers Resort, THORPE PARK, Madame Tussauds London and more Orange has today launched Bright Top Ups to its Pay As You Go customers which means every time a customer top ups by any amount, they will have a one in three chance to instantly win a prize.
Orange will reward millions of winners every month and customers will be sent a text message within minutes of topping up to inform them if they are successful. Orange Bright Top Ups launch with holiday and leisure inspired prizes providing Pay As You Go customers with fun in the sun over the Spring and Summer months. Prizes include thousands of non-mobile prizes such as European breaks, weekends away in the UK, tickets to Glastonbury, portable BBQs, beach towels, frisbees, juggling balls, and giant beach balls. Orange will regularly renew the theme of its prizes with new gifts up for grabs throughout the year.
If a customer wins a mobile prize including text bundles, and extra credit, these can be redeemed by simply replying “yes” to the text. Non-mobile prizes are claimed from our website at http://www.orange.co.uk/brighttopups
Non-prize winners can claim a 2 for 1* entry voucher to top attractions in the UK, including theme parks such as Alton Towers Resort and Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo, and fun outings to Legoland® Windsor, the Dungeons and Madame Tussauds London.
Pippa Dunn, Director of Pay As You Go at Orange UK, said: “Bright Top Ups from Orange will make topping up more fun and exciting. With a 1 in 3 chance to win a really great prize with every top-up, we’ll be giving away millions of instant prizes every month.”
Bright Top Ups is the latest benefit for Orange Pay As You Go customers who already have the best choice and value in the high street. Our Animal packages reward our customers with either free texts, free calls or free social networking on your mobile just for topping up. Orange also put £1 for every £10 top up into a Phone Fund which Pay As You Go Customers can redeem against a new phone anytime they

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Orange brings the touch screen mobile experience to the masses with the launch of Vegas

Orange brings the touch screen mobile experience to the masses with the launch of Vegas

For just £48.50, pay as you go customers get the cheapest full touch screen experience on the market Orange’s unique user interface provides users with easy one touch access to their favourite services Combined with Orange’s pay as you go Dolphin package, Vegas is the best value mobile for those who want to access Bebo, Facebook and MySpace on the go Orange today launched the ‘Vegas’, the smallest, lightest and cheapest touch screen mobile available in the UK. Priced at just £48.50 for pay as you go customers, the stylish Vegas handset is available in black and exclusive to Orange in pink.
Featuring a simple one-touch interface designed exclusively for Orange, the handset allows customers to quickly get to grips with its many features. The Vegas combines a lightweight and elegant style with a 1.3 megapixel camera – so users never have to miss out on the action and can share their photo and video experiences with friends within minutes. It also offers MP3 and media player capability as well as a built-in FM radio for keen music fans.
The handset’s large 2.4 inch high quality touch screen means it’s easy to navigate to your favourite social networking sites to stay in touch with friends. And when you top-up by £10 on Orange pay as you go Dolphin, you get 300 free texts, £10 credit to spend however you want plus free access to Bebo, Facebook and MySpace. Pay as you go Dolphin is the best value package on the market for those who want to access social networks on their mobile and Vegas is the perfect phone – great value with all the functionality and style that you’d expect at a higher price.
Speaking on the announcement, Francois Mahieu, Director of Devices, Orange UK said “The Vegas is the perfect handset for customers who wish to have the touch screen experience without breaking the bank. It provides a good functionality with a touch screen at a cheap and affordable price. Combined with our pay as you go Dolphin package which offers free access to Bebo, Facebook and MySpace – it really does offer consumers tremendous value.”
The Vegas comes with an in-built memory of 128MB and a microSD card slot that supports a data capacity of up to 4GB. Available immediately for only £48.50 the Vegas is also on offer to pay monthly customers. For more details visit Orange shops or http://www.orange.co.uk

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Salmond says Scottish business talent can lead way to recovery

Salmond says Scottish business talent can lead way to recovery

2009 National Business Awards for Scotland Finalists Announced Today
First Minister Alex Salmond has backed the National Business Awards for Scotland 2009 as showcasing some of the ability that can help the nation beat the economic downturn.
Mr Salmond said: “Scotland has an abundance of business talent and innovation, both established and up and coming. At times like these it is more important than ever that this talent is nurtured and allowed to reach its full potential.
“The Scottish Government is doing everything in its power to help businesses through the current downturn, and the expertise shown by the organisations short-listed for The Awards, in both the public and private sector, shows we can be confident the nation is well-placed to emerge strongly and take advantage of the opportunities that will come with recovery.”
Sponsored by Orange since its inception in 2002, The National Business Awards for Scotland is pleased to announce its 2009 finalists. Nearly sixty organisations have been short listed this year including Crieff Hydro, SgurrEnergy, STV Group, Telefonica O2 UK, Axa Insurance, Innis & Gunn, SELEX Galileo, Aberdeen College and Churchill Drilling Tools. The finalists represent both public and private organisations based in Aberdeen, Airdrie, Arbroath, Argyll, Edinburgh, Forfar, Glasgow, Motherwell, Paisley, Perth and Uddingston.
Paul Tollet, Vice President of Business, Orange UK said: „We wish the best of luck to all finalists of The National Business Awards for Scotland. Nobody can doubt that this is an extremely difficult period for commerce, however, the National Business Awards provides the opportunity to revive some confidence in Scottish business through the recognition of our most talented organisations and individuals. This year’s finalists clearly demonstrate the resilience, adaptability and success needed to drive the economy forward.”
Made up of eight categories, finalists will now be preparing to make their presentations in person before an independent, expert judging panel from 18th – 22nd May. Winners will be unveiled at a glittering gala award dinner on the 24th June at the at the Glasgow Hilton hotel.
“The entry for this year’s programme of The National Business Awards For Scotland is very encouraging. Without exception every entrant is forecasting some expectation of growth for the 12 months ahead which appears to indicate that even in the prevailing market conditions, well run, professionally operated organisations are able to develop and implement effective success strategies. And, while Scotland plc may not be looking towards its best year ever neither is it looking ahead to its worst”, said Philip Forrest, Chairman of Judges, since the programme’s inception in 2002.
The National Business Awards for Scotland, sponsored by Orange, is United Business Media’s flagship business recognition platform with its particular emphasis on success, innovation and ethical business. Acknowledged as Scotland’s leading showcase for achievement in business, The National Business Awards for Scotland connects the nations’ professionals through its business recognition platform and annual awards ceremony.
Last year’s winners included Martin Oliver of Kwik-Fit Financial Services; James Watt and Martin Dickie of BrewDog; Bright Grey, beCogent; Petroleum Experts and Lloyds TSB.
For further information on the 2009 finalists, go to http://www.businessawardsforscotland.com, telephone 020 7234 8755 or email nbapressoffice@ubm.com.

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Orange forms world’s first mobile and internet partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation

Orange forms world’s first mobile and internet partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation

This partnership, the first of its kind, will expand the reach of Wikimedia content through co-branded channels on Orange’s mobile and web portals.
The two partners will work together to develop new services and features around content from Wikipedia, the flagship project of the Wikimedia Foundation.
Paris and San Francisco, 23 April 2009: Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation today announced a wide-ranging strategic partnership designed to mutually benefit each organization’s users by extending the way people can access free knowledge.
Orange, the European telco leader in internet audience ranking, with 55 million unique visitors per month*, will initially provide customers in France, the UK, Spain and Poland with quick and simple access to co-branded content from the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the web encyclopedia Wikipedia. Partnership activities include:
creating specific Wikipedia channels on Orange mobile and web portals enriching sections of the Orange web and mobile portals with links to relevant Wikipedia information developing mobile and web-based widgets which enable customers to access Wikipedia content directly from their Orange mobile or web homepage Phase two of the agreement will see the two organisations cooperate to create a range of simple but innovative new services drawing on Orange’s skills as a total communications provider across mobile, internet and television. In addition, the partnership will be rolled out across the rest of Orange’s European footprint.
Commenting on the agreement, Paul-François Fournier, Executive Vice President, Audience Line of Business, Orange, said: “At Orange we are committed to giving people maximum access to the widest range of digital technologies and to simplifying the way people use these technologies to access information. By bringing our customers a new way to access content from Wikipedia, one of the world’s most recognised and popular internet brands, we are delivering on this commitment.”
“The Wikimedia Foundation is dedicated to spreading knowledge to as many people as possible, in as many ways as possible,” said Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. “Orange’s leadership in mobile and focus on innovation makes them an ideal partner to help us extend our reach. The Foundation welcomes partnerships that help us carry out our mission and that respect the valuable contributions of the Wikimedia community”
This partnership is part of Orange’s strategy to provide the most popular and compelling content to its customers and will increase the reach of Wikimedia services, particularly in the European mobile market and at a time when mobile internet usage is soaring. Through this partnership Orange is also supporting the Wikimedia Foundation’s core mission of enhancing and expanding the reach of Wikipedia and other collaborative knowledge projects to new users.
Learn more about the Orange Wikimedia partnership on video at http://www.orange-innovation.tv/wikimedia.
*55 million unique visitors per month – comScore, February 2009
About Orange
Orange is the key brand of France Telecom, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. With 123 million customers, the Orange brand now covers Internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the Group operates. At the end of 2008, France Telecom had consolidated sales of 53.5 billion euros and a customer base of more than 182 million customers in 30 countries. These include 122 million mobile customers worldwide and 13 million broadband Internet (ADSL) customers in Europe.
Orange is the number three mobile operator and the number one provider of broadband Internet services in Europe and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.
The Group’s strategy, which is characterized by a strong focus on innovation, convergence and effective cost management, aims to establish Orange as an integrated operator and benchmark for new telecommunications services in Europe. Today the Group remains focused on its core activities as a network operator, while working to develop its position in new growth activities. To meet customer expectations, the Group strives to provide products and services that are simple and user-friendly, while maintaining a sustainable and responsible business model that can be adapted to the requirements of a fast-paced and changing eco-system.
France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.For more information: http://www.orange.com, http://www.francetelecom.com, http://www.orange-business.com. Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Personal Communications Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.
**About the Wikimedia Foundation ** The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization which operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore Media Metrix, Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation receive more than 300 million unique visitors per month, making them the 4th most popular web property world-wide. Available in more than 265 languages, Wikipedia contains more than 12 million articles contributed by a global volunteer community of more than 100,000 people. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is an audited, 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. http://www.wikimediafoundation.org

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Orange survey reveals business personality UK managers would most like to take to see a film

Orange survey reveals business personality UK managers would most like to take to see a film

An Orange poll has revealed the Godfather to be the favourite film choice of over 900 business managers in the U.K. Asked by the YouGov survey to vote for their top business based film, the Francis Ford Coppola classic topped the votes (38%) closely followed by Wall Street (25%) and Jerry McGuire (20%). However there was a clear demographic divide with female business managers citing the film Working Girl as a top three film choice despite the male demographic voting this as one of their least favourite films.
When it came to voting on the business personality respondents would most like to take to see a film, courtesy of Orange Wednesday, Sir James Dyson, inventor of the world-famous bagless vacuum cleaner, topped the poll with the UK’s small business managers while managers in larger organisations would rather share a film with Simon Cowell or lastminute.com founder Martha Lane-Fox.
A popular choice, James Dyson once again topped the poll as the most admired business leader with 47% of the vote, well ahead of TV Dragon Theo Paphitis (17%) and X Factor’s Simon Cowell (15%).
Martin Lyne, Director of small and medium business, Orange UK said, „Sir James Dyson is a great example of the ingenuity and creativity driving many British businesses at the moment. It therefore comes as little surprise that the majority of UK business people voted him as the entrepreneur they most admire and would like to spend an Orange Wednesday evening with. Whilst the majority of UK businessmen might not have the opportunity to talk shop over a pizza with Sir James, they can still take advantage of our 2 for 1 pizza and movie offer to network with colleagues and partners. Perhaps the next great British invention or business idea will be hatched at an Orange Wednesday.”
At the other end of the list, you might not be surprised to hear that the survey of business managers found Sir Fred Goodwin (former RBS chief executive) to be the least admired businessman across both male and female managers. To add insult to injury, Sir Fred Goodwin came in as the least favourite business figure along with Gerald Ratner (former chief executive of Ratners) to take to an Orange Wednesday evening. Orange Wednesdays 2-for-1 cinema and PizzaExpress offers are open to all Orange business customers. All you need to do is simply text ‘film’ to 241 from your Orange mobile, then head to orange.co.uk/orangewednesdays to download your PizzaExpress 2-for-1 meal deal voucher – including a choice of either free garlic bread or dough balls. The offer is available at cinemas nationwide and any PizzaExpress.

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Orange launches the HTC Touch™ 3G for Business Customers

Orange launches the HTC Touch™ 3G for Business Customers

Orange today announces the eagerly anticipated HTC Touch™ 3G for business customers. Available at Orange in exclusive matt black, the Touch™ 3G cleverly combines work and leisure applications in one device through a range of powerful multimedia and mobile email capabilities. The Touch 3G additionally offers UMA technology, enabling calls to be made over a Wifi/Broadband connection, allowing customers to benefit from enhanced network coverage.
With capacity for a 30gGB MicroSD card, busy professionals can use the HTC Touch™ 3G to catch a movie, listen to music or surf the web on the move while mobile email means they easily can keep on top of their work load. Powered by Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional, customers can simply, easily and cost-effectively synchronise all Outlook email, contacts and calendar information directly with their phone.
Offering more than four times the resolution found on most phone screens, the 2.8-inch touchscreen boasts outstanding clarity, and responds perfectly to the lightest touch making it easier to scroll through your contacts, browse the web or launch any of the multimedia options. The inbuilt 3.2 megapixel camera means customers can catch moments spontaneously, while high-speed HSDPA internet connectivity gives them the power to share photos and video clips with friends instantly.
François Mahieu, Director of Devices at Orange, said: „Mobile email is no longer enough for busy professionals. Instead, they’re looking for a device that offers a range of business functions and multimedia services. The HTC Touch™ 3G offers all this and more, helping businesses get more out of whatever they’re doing, wherever they are.”

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Orange and Nokia extend strategic partnership with mobile email

Orange and Nokia extend strategic partnership with mobile email

Leading international collaboration adds email to music, gaming and maps for the ultimate mobile multimedia experience
Orange and Nokia today announced they will extend their partnership with a new, simple-to-use email service for consumers. This extension to their multi-country agreement will deliver and launch a co-branded solution, Nokia Messaging by Orange, on a range of Orange Signature devices, aiming to bring mobile email to everyone with a phone, as well as working professionals.
First announced in February 2008, this three-year agreement was formed by Nokia and Orange to meet growing demand for multimedia on the mobile. It combines and integrates the best available services from both companies in the areas of music, games and maps across a range of Nokia devices. The successful alliance will expand the portfolio to eight countries and will include up to 30 Nokia devices in the Orange Signature range in 2009.
Launching first in the UK from this summer, followed by France and Spain, Orange customers will be able to take advantage of built-in push email on the forthcoming Nokia E75 and a range of Nokia devices.
Olaf Swantee, Senior EVP of Orange’s global mobile business, said, “It was only a few weeks ago that we announced our strategy to make mobile multimedia a mass market phenomenon. This extension to our partnership with Nokia shows how serious we are about bringing mobile multimedia to every customer. With our leadership in innovation, proven expertise in convergence across our fixed, mobile and broadband networks and knowledge of our customers, we think this offer will help increase consumer appetite for mobile email.”
Raoul Roverato, EVP of Orange’s New Growth Businesses, confirmed, “Orange and Nokia have worked jointly as a team during those past months to provide the best of breed services to Orange mobile customers based on each company’s assets and service platforms. This new milestone will strengthen our partnership with Nokia and underline our commitment to provide additional value to Orange customers. This will pave the way to new opportunities of partnerships between the two companies in the coming months.”
Kai Öistämö, Executive Vice President, Nokia says, “Orange is the first operator group to announce a European-wide offering of Nokia Messaging to their customers and we are very pleased about this extension to our service collaboration. The agreement on Nokia Messaging will boost the adoption of mobile email service and makes it easy for consumers to activate the service on-device and at Point-of-Sale. We believe that mobile messaging is for everyone, not just for a certain segment of the consumer market. “
Orange customers will be able to aggregate and manage multiple email accounts while on the move via the Orange homescreen. This service is easy to set up and enables people to directly access up to 10 personal email accounts, letting them read, send, forward and reply to emails, view subfolders, download and read attachments and attach files to emails directly on the Nokia device.
Orange and Nokia have agreed to launch Nokia Messaging in several major markets during 2009 with bundling, pricing and attractive tariffs announced locally across the Orange footprint.

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Teenage Readers to Win £1000 with the Penguin Orange Readers’ Group Prize

Teenage Readers to Win £1000 with the Penguin Orange Readers’ Group Prize

Orange is offering teen readers the chance to win £1000 with the new look 2009 Penguin Orange Readers’ Group Prize.The Penguin Orange Readers’ Group Prize, the UK’s only prize to find the reading group of the year, is being re-launched through the teenage website Spinebreakers, http://www.spinebreakers.co.uk, as part of a campaign to engage younger readers with the Orange Prize for Fiction.
Last month, Orange announced the appointment of a youth panel to shadow the judging process of the official Orange Prize 2009 judges.
Now in its eighth year, the Penguin Orange Readers’ Group Prize forms part of Orange’s portfolio of literary partnerships.
Entrants are asked to demonstrate how they make reading social, whether it’s through book groups, blogs or Facebook. The competition will also be promoted through social networking sites to encourage younger readers to share their reading group experiences.
First prize is a cheque for £1000 plus two tickets to the Orange Prize for Fiction awards ceremony in June and two runners up will receive a set of the 2009 Orange Prize shortlisted books.
“The concept of reading groups has been evolving from the traditional monthly meetings in homes and libraries for some time,” said Kate Mosse, author and Chair of judges for the 2009 Readers’ Group Prize. “We want to find those readers who are chatting about books in really exciting, diverse and creative ways such as online, on Twitter, on walls and forums or through blogs and where better to find out how this is happening than amongst younger readers.”
The entry form can be found on the teenage website spinebreakers.co.uk, the Orange Prize website, orangeprize.co.uk and via readers.penguin.co.uk. Posters and flyers promoting the competition are also being distributed in schools, universities and libraries across the UK.
The closing date for entries is 1 May 2009. A shortlist of three groups will be selected by the Orange Prize shadow youth panel members and a winner will be announced at the end of May.
For more information, go to: http://www.spinebreakers.co.uk http://www.orangeprize.co.uk

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Orange Personal Line manages the balance between work and personal life

Orange Personal Line manages the balance between work and personal lifeOrange today announced a refresh of its Personal Line service for Medium and Corporate business customers.Managing the balance between work and personal life can be tricky, but Personal Line allows users to combine two lines with separate numbers on one phone. They’re able to enjoy the benefits of a business line, then, at the touch of a key, make personal calls at competitive call rates that will be billed separately to them.
It helps people with a business phone keep work from spilling over into their personal lives as one line is kept specifically for business use, and the other is for personal calls. There are even two separate answer phone facilities and all without the bother of juggling two separate devices.
Each line can support a range of Orange services, including text and picture messaging as well as browsing. Roaming services can be activated on the business line only for company use, meaning peace of mind for business travellers that they won’t find themselves billed for work related calls made abroad.
It’s good news for employers too; they pay for business-related calls only and there is no need to work out everyone’s bill every month, thus enabling them to save administrative time and hassle, and help them stay competitive in the current economic climate.
Personal Line is available on a choice of three plans, with either free line rental and an 11.7 pence per minute or message charge for calls, answerphone and text messages, or for a monthly charge of £9.79 with a choice of either unlimited evening and weekend texts or unlimited evening and weekend calls to landlines*.
Unlimited benefits are subject to fair use policies. Out of bundle charges apply

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ORANGE EXTENDS FREE BLACKBERRY INTERNET SERVICE FOR BUSINESS CUSTOMERS

ORANGE EXTENDS FREE BLACKBERRY INTERNET SERVICE FOR BUSINESS CUSTOMERS

BlackBerry Internet Service promotion during April and May on selected tariffs

London, April 08, 2009: Orange is extending its free BlackBerry® email and web browsing offer to help business customers in these challenging economic times. Customers who sign up to the BlackBerry® Internet Service (BIS) in April and May will be able to receive and reply to emails as well as browse the web on their BlackBerry device; all for free for the duration of their mobile voice contract.

“As the recession continues to bite, the last thing we want is to see is our customers worrying about their phone bill at the end of the month, so this move will hopefully alleviate some of the worries they are facing,” commented, Martin Lyne, Director of small and medium business, Orange UK.

The offer is available on all Blackberry devices to new and existing customers on select Orange business tariffs, making it much easier and cost-effective for customers to stay in touch when on the move. The service for both business and personal use means that access to data and people is available whenever the user wishes.

Until 31st May 2009, Orange customers can take up the offer with Business Solo or Business Infinity, subject to a minimum12 month contract.

For further information, please visit: http://www.orange.co.uk/business/bis

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