Orange and Sony Ericsson Announce Extended Partnership

Mobile phone operator Orange announced today the extension of its partnership with Sony Ericsson for delivering more fun and easy mobile multimedia services. The company also announced the addition of new entertainment phones to the partnership, including high-quality Cyber-shot and Java gaming handsets meant to enhance user experience. The agreement has been extended two years, and Orange will continue to offer its music service on a variety of Walkman devices.

“This is a natural evolution for Orange and Sony Ericsson and a great example of how a fully integrated partnership can deliver both value to our business and a fantastic customer experience,” says Yves Maitre, senior VP Devices, Orange. “This successful partnership has already brought music to the ears of millions of Orange customers. We are now strengthening this leadership in music services and joint marketing campaigns by combining our own mobile innovations with the best handsets to fulfil our vision, bringing mobile multimedia to everyone.”

The new Walkman handsets will be included in Orange's successful Signature Series, which delivers a simple and relevant multimedia experience to the carrier's users. The Walkman devices are coupled with the Orange Music Store, which offers over one million tracks to users. In addition, the agreement will also integrate innovative mobile services from Orange into new SE handsets, including Orange Photo, Orange Games and Orange Downloads.

Yves also said: “Our clear ambition is to increase usage by delivering simple and relevant content, whilst helping customers discover new ways to use their phone. As consumption of music via the phone has grown, our customers have also shown an insatiable appetite for entertainment services beyond downloading and listening to the latest tracks. As well as music, we've also seen a sharp increase in games downloads[1] and people sharing photos, so the time is right to seize this opportunity.”

Pieter Pierle, Head of Global Customer Unit Orange at Sony Ericsson stated: “We have always enjoyed a very successful music partnership with Orange, we know that two of the top three music handsets from Orange are from our own range. With a shared passion to bring mobile entertainment and content to everyone, Orange and Sony Ericsson are building upon a great partnership to ensure further success.”

Sony Ericsson recently announced the launch of Entertainment Unlimited, which coincides with today’s announcement, and Pieter Pierle concluded: “Our new consumer proposition Entertainment Unlimited perfectly aligns with Orange's fresh approach to mobile multimedia, of which entertainment services play a huge part. Under the umbrella of Entertainment Unlimited, we at Sony Ericsson are now uniting all the experiences that have made us a leader in music, imaging and digital content services, making this partnership a perfect fit for customers that want the best entertainment experience available.”