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Orange France begins nationwide NFC SIM rollout in the name of 'Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité'
NFC's potential uses are numerous -- contactless mobile payments, automated actions and content sharing to name a few -- but aside from its scattered inclusion in a limited number of handsets in the US and overseas, we've yet to see it truly take off. Cue Orange France. The wireless carrier's taking a non-traditional route to spur adoption by sidestepping manufacturers and bringing the near field communication tech to all 27 million of its subscribers directly. To do this, the operator's implementing Gemalto's UpTeq SIM, a secure NFC solution the company claims is on par with existing chip-based implementations. Going forward, the enhanced SIMs will be standard issue for new post-paid users throughout the carrier's home footprint, while current subs will have to contact Orange to specifically request it. Head on past the break to check out the company's official PR.
Another Windows Phone spotted, Nokia Sun on the horizon?
It's getting increasingly difficult to pin down exactly how many Nokia Windows Phones we can expect to see this year, now that the French WinPho obsessives at Mon Windows Phone have added the Nokia Sun to that list. The site got its hands on the vague screengrab above, which shows this mystery phone joining Orange France's ranks of forthcoming devices. With names like the SeaRay and Sabre already being bandied around, the Sun does fit in with Nokia's naming trend for Mango handsets, although it could be another name for previously leaked hardware. The accompanying spec sheet, meanwhile, hints at a very N9-esque device with an AMOLED screen, eight megapixel camera, polycarbonate shell, and (perhaps) a Micro SIM slot -- all centered around a slightly smaller display. Who knows, maybe this is the anonymous (and possibly fake) phone we saw last month? All bets are on the table at this point, but with Nokia World set to kick off in a few weeks, we shouldn't have to wait long for an answer. We'll be there to sniff out all the details on the Finnish colossus' Windows Phone offerings -- however many they decide to shower us with.
Twilight-customized LG GD510 set to Eclipse all other phones in France
Think Apple and Android fans are hardcore? Those guys are mere lightweights compared to Twilight fanatics, who'll soon have a phone to call their own too. Coming with eight tie-in wallpapers and that embellished back cover, this version of the GD510 -- a thoroughly unexciting featurephone with ambitions above its 3-inch, resistive touchscreen station -- has just become available over in France, for free on contracts with Orange or in exchange for €199 ($238). As a bonus temptation, LG is also throwing in a free copy of Twilight: New Moon, though we doubt anyone buying this phone will have seen that movie less than a dozen times.
