It has been confirmed that from October 5th, customers on Orange and T-Mobile will be able to 'roam' across either network, in a a prelude to full, automatic roaming being enabled some time next year.

Initially, customers will have to opt in to the cross network roaming system, as some handsets on either network may not be able to access all features when roaming. By opting in, it gives customer services a chance to inform customers of some issues that could arise.

In the run up to October 5th, adverts from T-Mobile and Orange will be run to inform customers of the new roaming option, and will carry the tag line 'Inspired by Everything Everywhere'. The strength of the combined networks is seen as a real positive for the new venture, as networks become increasingly overloaded by data traffic from smartphones. It was also confirmed that T-Mobile will be getting the HD Voice upgrade which was recently activated across the Orange network.

Everything Everywhere CEO Tom Alexander said “We see this as a step change for Everything Everywhere,” “Moving forward we want to provide a smart multi-network capability, so that customers can roam onto different networks be they fixed, mobile or hotspot WiFi. Our responsibility is to make that as seamless as possible.”

For a call to be completed in HD quality, both ends of the call need compatible equipment, so it isn't going to make a difference if you happen to be calling a landline. Also, there are currently only two compatible HD voice handsets available on the Orange network, the Nokia E5 and Samsung Omnia Pro 5230, although it is expected that more handsets will be launched in the coming months. Although Apple have already stated they will not be supporting HD Voice, other manufacturers are expected to, so there should be a fair selection of handsets to choose from.

Vice President of Business at Everything Everywhere, the company now running Orange, Martin Stiven said: “HD Voice is going to change the way businesses are able to communicate through our mobiles from conducting calls in places that were not previously possible to the ability to hear emotion in people's voices. People are going to love the clarity of calls and the lack of background noise. Once you've used it, you will want to keep it.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Among some of the more entertaining ads are the Orange ads, and the latest ad is launched in cinemas across the UK today, starring Jack Black, with a spoof for the new version of Gulliver's Travels which is due to be released just before Christmas.

Orange have a long association with cinema, as well as their ads they have an excellent offer, Orange Wednesdays, which allows you to get 2 for 1 cinema tickets by texting the word 'Film' to the short code number 241. Part of the 2 for 1 deal also allows you to go to a Pizza Express restaurant and get two pizzas for the price of one, as well as either free garlic bread or dough balls, making Wednesdays a really good, cheap night out all round.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In today's modern society, the common claim from most people is 'we are too busy' as if life is somehow so hectic that it is virtually impossible to complete all the things we have to do, let alone all the things we would like to do. The impression is that despite the technology, we live in a world where the resource drain on our time is just too much, and as such certain activities suffer.

The truth of the matter is, we are all actually in control of our own situations, and a few changes here and there would make a world of difference, it just takes a re-aligning of priorities. However, the technology we have day by day in our pockets, bags and purses can also be used in a multitude of ways to help us serve others who need help on a regular basis, without making too many drastic changes to the way we live our lives. And to demonstrate how this can be done, Orange UK are launching a new project, which aims to use mobile technology to transform the way we volunteer our time and services for a variety of charitable causes.

'Snack-sized volunteering' allows people to utilise the mobile phone into helping those who need help, helping to generate extra hours of volunteering in the UK each year. Initially the project is being launched via an online website, which is focussing on attracting new ideas and concepts on ways we can achieve mobile volunteering. The top ten suggested methods for mobile volunteering will then be developed and funded by Orange, with the aim of eventually producing the ultimate volunteering application.

Suggestions on the site already include ideas such as saving charities thousands of pounds by giving them free access to people's opinions, or promoting wildlife research and protection for endangered species by taking pictures of things we see. There is an idea to make it easy for people to get involved by mapping local community services, or giving blind people access and insight by recording audio snippets.

Head of Open Innovation for Orange, Jogesh Limbani, said: “We're taking responsibility as a company for maximising the true potential of the mobile phone, to see how it can be used to empower consumers to do acts of good whilst on the move. In trying to crowd source these ideas, we'll develop this concept in collaboration with top industry experts to ensure that the end product has a very real impact on UK society. It is an exciting vision that builds on our heritage of innovation whilst at the same time aims to inspire millions of people to give just minutes of their time, and making a massive difference to UK society.”

It is rare that we are as busy as we think, even so such a scheme should appeal to many people. Giving a micro moment of your time on its own admittedly will make little difference, but if this concept is embraced by a large number of people, those micro moments will soon add up to a number that can make a real difference to any number of organisations and charitable causes.

To forward on your idea, and get involved in building the online community, simply sign up at mobilevolunteering.co.uk

Click here to view the embedded video.

Almost two weeks ago we noted that T-Mobile had finally gotten around to releasing the Android 2.1 update for the HTC Hero, and now it seems that Orange are following suit, with reports coming through that the OTA update is now coming through on Orange branded handsets.

The HTC Hero was one of the first 'big' handsets running on the Android platform, but from being a market leader it was soon left behind as many other handsets were released, sporting a later version of the Android OS. Despite running the excellent Sense UI, underneath it the Hero was stuck on Android OS 1.5, which meant no access to some of the more recently released apps on the Android Market. Now with T-Mobile and Orange both bringing forth their official updates for the handset, the Hero is able to hold its own against the other big handsets in the smartphone market.

Operating System fragmentation has been a bit of an issue for Android devices over recent months, but gradually all handsets are either being updated to, or being released on Android 2.1, this should become less of a problem. The next step of course is to get users onto the OS version 2.2, with Android 3.0 already being talked about. It is highly unlikely that HTC will be officially bringing these updates to the Hero, though.

Today (1st July) sees the the official integration of T-Mobile UK and Orange UK, with all employees now employed by Everything Everywhere Limited.

Initially the network names of T-Mobile and Orange will be kept, with each looking to focus on various market segments. Everything Everywhere Limited is now the biggest communications company in the UK, with a combined customer base of over 30 million customers. Work is ongoing to integrate the infrastructure of the two networks, which will help deliver the vision of the company in being able to provide customers instant access to everything, everywhere.

Tom Alexander, the Chief Executive of Everything Everywhere Limited said “Today we have created the country's biggest communications company, and as the new leader in the industry, it is our aspiration to give our customers instant access to the world around them, to everything everywhere, through both of our brands, Orange and T-Mobile”

Sometimes, it is easy to lose sight of the main use of a mobile phone, that of making voice calls. With most mobile phones able to browse the web, access emails, play games and music, capture and store photos and be used as mobile SatNav units, actually making a call is low down on the list of many users.

For those that care about calling, Orange have announced a trial launch of HD voice calling in the UK, following on from a successful launch on the Orange network in Moldova back in September last year. Initially, the trial will be activated on a part of the Orange network in the South West of England, and is expected to be rolled out across the whole Orange UK network by the end of the summer.

The codec used by Orange to provide the higher quality voice calls is achieved with a simple software update, which means it should be easy to establish across the whole network, and Orange expect most manufacturers to be able to make their devices compatible with HD Voice calling within the next 12 – 18 months, although Apple have already said they will not be supporting it.

Check out the video, below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The iPhone 4 was announced on Monday, and will be available to buy in just two weeks time. And for consumers in the UK, the good news this week is following the announcement of the release date, availability of Apple's new handset has been confirmed for all five main UK networks. O2, the network who originally brought the iPhone to the UK will be carrying the handset, as will Orange and Vodafone who were the first networks to break O2's exclusive iPhone deal.

Now the remaining two networks yet to deliver the iPhone, T-Mobile and Three, have both confirmed that they will have the iPhone 4 ready to sell on launch day. This is clearly good news for loyal T-Mobile and Three customers, and will hopefully stimulate some fierce competition between the networks as they fight for a share of the lucrative smartphone market.

It will be interesting to see just what kind of tariffs the two new entrants will offer, and also what kind of data bundles they will deliver, particularly in light of the news that O2 will no longer be offering unlimited data to their smartphone customers. The new iPhone tariffs on O2 will deliver 500MB of inclusive data on price plans below £40, 750MB of inclusive data on tariffs above £40, and 1GB of inclusive data on the £60 a month tariff. This follows on from the recent changes Vodafone made to their own data bundles, and Orange have also been hinting in the last day or two that they will also be looking to realign their own data offerings. Which leaves T-Mobile and Three to either follow suit, or deliver some top draw deals to tempt people to move to them.

The problem with delivering open data tariffs is the strain heavy usage puts on parts of the network. O2 in the UK, and AT&T in the US have both suffered in the past with issues surrounding the quality of their data connections, as iPhone users in particular started to take advantage of their new devices, browsing the web and accessing a host of online services. Three in particular are proud to promote their network as designed for the mobile internet, and may well feel inclined to offer an enticing data rich package. We shall know in the next few days.

Whichever way it pans out, the Apple iPhone 4 is set to hog the headlines over the next few weeks.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The music festival season is coming, and past experience says it will rain, and it will be muddy. So suitable footwear will be needed. Aside from suitable clothing, another requirement will be your mobile phone, so you can keep in touch with friends via text and social networks, tweeting and updating, and taking pictures for your online photo album. The problem comes in when you suddenly realise you have one bar of battery left, and in the middle of a field far away from any power point.

But fear not, because Orange have seen a way to make sure you can wear appropriate footwear and keep your phone charged up, with the Orange Power Wellies (seriously). Developed in conjunction with renewable energy experts GotWind, the wellies have a unique power generating sole, that will convert heat from your feet into an electrical current. Orange are Official Communications Partner for the Glastonbury festival, and they will be showcasing the prototype for these wellies on site.

It is estimated that twelve hours of walking around the Glastonbury Festival in the Power Wellies will generate enough power to give your mobile a charge for one hour. If that is not enough, then a bit of dancing should help, as the hotter your feet get, the more energy they will generate. All you need to do to get the power from the wellies to your phone is plug it into the power output adaptor at the top of the footwear.

Whilst the whole 'Power Welly' thing may seem a little silly, there is a serious point behind it all, using an eco friendly way of charging up electrical equipment. The way the whole thing works is by utilising a process known as the 'Seebeck' effect. Hidden away inside the sole of the footwear are thermoelectric modules, constructed with semiconductor materials to form a thermocouple. These are connected together to form a thermopile, which is then sandwiched between two thin ceramic wafers. When heat from the foot is applied to the top of the ceramic cover, and cold to the underside, electricity is generated.

If you want to see a demo of the Orange Power Wellies at the Glastonbury Festival, Orange will be putting on a demo in their Chill n Charge area.

News today of the upcoming merger between Orange and T-Mobile, with the announcement that both brands are going to be kept active on the High St, being run by a company that will be called Everything Everywhere.

It was decided to retain the Orange and T-Mobile brands due to each owning “clear emotional territory” in the marketplace. The two brands will be aimed at specific market segments, although how that will work for each respective brand is not yet clear.

Integration work starts from July 1st, with work to integrate network infrastructure, removing sites and base stations where there is duplication of coverage. Interestingly, for existing Orange and T-Mobile customers, roaming across the two networks will come into force later this year at no additional cost. The combined venture will be the largest communications company in Britain, with over 30 million customers.

Tom Alexander, chief executive of the Everything Everywhere joint venture, said: “We are Everything Everywhere – it’s our name, our vision, and our ambition – and we run two of the UK’s biggest brands Orange and T-Mobile. It’s our vision to give our customers instant access to everything everywhere, opening up a world of endless possibilities.”