LONDON-Orange announced plans to launch what it said will be the United Kingdom’s first mobile TV service next week.
The carrier said it will offer a line-up of nine channels of news, sports and entertainment on its 3G network, and other channels will be added in coming months. The service will be offered at about $18 a month, which includes 1 GB of data-enough for 20 hours viewing, according to Orange.
The service will initially be available only on the Nokia 6680, with other TV-capable handsets scheduled for release later this year.
“This signals the start of a huge new opportunity for our customers, broadcasters, handset manufacturers and production companies,” said Alexis Dormandy, Orange’s chief marketing officer. “We’re talking to broadcasters about new, exciting content, and we’re looking forward to adding more great Orange TV channels in the near future.”
Meanwhile, Chinese mobile company EyeMail Technologies Inc. said it is teaming with California-based technology provider TruVideo on a new mobile TV service. Monet TV, an interactive-video offering initially targeting Asian markets, will be available in Singapore on Symbian-equipped handsets later this year.
“Mobile is our flagship product which leverages our experience and innovation in mobile media solutions,” said Gary Zhang, chief executive officer of EyeMail. “We are confident that with our partnership with TruVideo, we can bring the best mobile media experience to handset users.”
