HD Voice from Orange will make me happy

One of the reasons Skype was so successful — at least in the early days — was in part due to geek wonderment. I remember watching my father — who started his career installing telephones for British Telecom — giggle with delight at the technology which enabled us to talk across vast distances with magnificent audio clarity.

The ability to converse with friends and business colleagues ‘properly’ has always been one of the best things about Skype.

I wonder, then, what the introduction of Orange’s Mobile HD Voice will do for the market?

High Definition Mobile Voice will apparently enable ‘crystal clear superior sound quality’ for Orange UK customers. In order to get this clarity, you will need to have an ‘HD enabled’ handset — something Orange is working on with handset manufacturers.

I can imagine this becoming a preference for me. I can really see my friends and colleagues shifting to a service such as this — if it performs to expectation. Of course, quality of network (i.e. signal) is still going to be important. It’s no good being able to converse in ‘HD audio’ if the network is continually busy.

I look forward to seeing the trials! There’s a little more information about the announcement at Orange’s newsroom.

I am also happy to see some innovation in this segment of the marketplace. Good stuff, Orange.