Orange unveils 'TV phone'

IT IS the phone that means you need never miss your favourite TV programme again. Orange today unveiled Britain's first phone that doubles as a television.

Nine channels are currently available, including CNN, ITN and a live feed from the Big Brother house.

The Nokia 6680 works as an ordinary mobile, but can also display live TV sent over Orange's 3G network. Users simply choose the channel they want, and within seconds the live pictures are displayed, with sound, on their phone's colour screen.

The phone costs £80 and the TV service costs £10 per month, which allows users to watch up to 20 hours of television. Experts say it should be a massive success. 'We are already a nation of TV addicts, so I think pretty soon we will all have TV phones,' said James Beechinor-Collins, editor of gadget magazine T3.

'Almost every mobile company is working on TV now, so we will see these phones everywhere very soon. It's great for catching up on the news or Big Brother.'

Deborah Tonroe of Orange claims the phone could help commuters deal with delays. 'During our trials we found people were using the service while waiting for friends or a bus - it's almost like a surrogate friend,' she said.

Orange intends to increase the number of channels available on the phones and is in discussions with TV networks to use their programmes.

Ms Tonroe said: 'We are talking to the BBC, ITV and a lot of major broadcasters, all of whom are very keen. The type of programmes that work are sports, news and entertainment - I can't see anyone sitting down to watch a film on their phone just yet. But we can have an unlimited number of channels, so there should be something for everyone.'

Several other phone networks are testing TV phones, and Nokia is also developing a handset that can receive terrestrial digital TV channels without having to send pictures over the 3G network.

Putting it to the test

USING the phone is very straightforward - just open the TV section in the menu and choose your channel. It takes about five seconds for channels to appear, but after this we found there were no signal interruptions.

Although the screen is relatively small, the picture quality is superb and the audio is clear. The phone only works where there is an Orange 3G signal. Only 70% of the UK is covered so it's worth checking coverage in your area before buying. If you're moving across London on a bus, for instance, you might find the signal occasionally vanishes, making your programme pause.