Offers a catalogue of more than 5,000 pieces of content.
We thought Orange had launched its app store a long time ago, but an announcement today seemingly heralds the official launch of the Orange App Shop.
The store client is now available to more than one million customers in the UK and France as an over-the-air download, offering more than 5,000 apps, games, ringtones and wallpapers.
The store will offer Java, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile applications. Naturally, carrier billing is built in from the start, so customers will pay for apps on their mobile bills.
The operator says that in January, it will start preloading the client on the Nokia 6700 and Sony Ericsson's W995 and U100i, before launching it for phones made by Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola and RIM.
(Watch for some fun when, say, Samsung launches an Android phone on Orange, and three separate app stores are battling it out for prime placement).
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Orange says that next year, it will launch the store across Europe, including Spain, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Belgium, Austria, Moldova and Portugal - with localised content in each case.
"We are giving customers a tailor-made shop window on the mobile that makes it easier to discover, download, use and manage content," says Yves Torode, EVP of Orange Technocentre.
"Whether it's a Smartphone user, or someone using a simpler device, we know the demand for content is there - it's just about getting that experience right."
The news follows Samsung's unveiling of its bada apps platform yesterday.
