Orange has entered the UK Internet radio market with a wireless Internet radio device called Liveradio. Liveradio connects to the web via wi-fi and gives broadband customers access to over 4,000 local, national and international Internet radio stations. The launch follows the introduction of Liveradio in France.
The device works in conjunction with the Liveradio website. Once registered on the site, users can customise their presets, create specialist folders for easy reference and add the stations they want to listen to via a simple drag and drop function.
If the song being listened to is shown on the Liveradios screen, users can press the Bookmark button on the radio and the details of the track are added to the My Favourites section on the Liveradio website, along with an option to buy from the Orange Music Store. By clicking on the Buy link provided, Orange Music Store will be presented in a separate window allowing the customer to buy the track, if available, for 0.99 from a catalogue of over 1 million tracks. Orange mobile customers can also take advantage of the dual-download feature, that means they also get the track on their mobile for no additional cost.
Figures published earlier this year by the audience measurement body Rajar show that more than 8 million people listen to Internet-based radio every week in the UK.
The Internet radio market in the UK is growing at an increasingly rapid rate and Orange, with its home Internet pedigree, is well placed to be part of it, says Orange UK Vice President of Home, Mike Newnham. The Liveradio device weve launched today is testament to our ability to offer consumers a multi-platformed entertainment experience, and is the first of many such products Orange plans to offer for the home.
The Liveradio is priced at 99.99 and is available immediately online here, or from 1 June at selected Orange retail stores.