Orange HD calls go live

Orange has launched its High Definition voice service, which provides a higher level of call quality than your standard handset.

HD calling works by isolating and dampening any background noise, to give a supposedly crystal clear sound quality. Orange claims that the technology makes a phone call seem like you’re talking to the other person in the same room.

The downside is that to be able to use it, most people will need to buy a new mobile which supports this fresh technology. However, some phones already do, including the Nokia X6, E5, 5230 and the Samsung Omnia Pro, the Telegraph reports.

For owners of these handsets, the service will be free and doubtless very welcome, as no charge is being made for HD voice by Orange.

The service uses compression technology to deliver the clearer sound, so it shouldn’t hit the Orange network and won’t slow it down, the company claims. However, there are still complaints regarding Orange network outages which have been cropping up (our readers included) since they hit a major simultaneous hardware and software failure almost two weeks ago now.