Post date: Sep 03, 2010 6:4:18 PM
Mobile phone network Orange has rolled out its HD Voice technology, promising clearer calls with less background noise, as phone companies look to up profits by convincing us it's good to talk.
EUROPE-MOBILE TECHNOLOGY - In an age where we can use mobile phones to share photos, watch TV or surf the web .. it seems surprising that crackly lines and poor signal still frustrate callers.
Now mobile phone network Orange says its High Definition Voice technology will put an end to hisses and crackles when you make a call.
That could be invaluable for phone users who often phone from noisy places or while on the go.
Andrew Warner is Head of Voice and Messaging at Orange.
Andrew Warner, Head of Voice and Messaging at Orange, saying:
"We've just squeezed more speech information into our network. So at the moment with normal phone calling, only a very small portion of the voice is transmitted, which makes it actually quite hard to hear phone calls and that means background noise is more of a problem. What we're doing now is using a much cleverer system."
For this technology to work - both callers have to be on the Orange network - and have to be using HD Voice enabled phones. That doesn't include best-sellers like the iPhone or the BlackBerry.
And as the technology is new to the UK - not that many of us will be able to enjoy clearer calls at the moment.
With the advances in mobile phone technology in recent years, we now expect smartphones like this one to help us organise all aspects of our lives. But some technology analysts say that in the race to build smartphones, mobile phone companies have forgotten about one of the primary functions of a phone - making and receiving clear calls.
Chris Green is a technology analyst at DMG Europe.
Chris Green, Technology analyst, DMG Europe, saying:
"The drop in the number of voice calls being carried by mobile phone networks has become extremely pronounced. Small drops here and there were tolerable, especially as the increase in things like text messaging and data use more than compensated for the drop off in voice. Voice calling is still the bread and butter for most mobile phone networks, it's where they make their real money, so they really don't want to cannibalise that core market."
But this technology won't help areas where there's poor signal.
Mobile networks other than Orange are expected to get involved - providing this new technology gets both consumers and business customers making more phone calls again.
Joanna Partridge, Reuters