Orange's Black Bluetooth car
With a ban on using a mobile phone handset while driving set to come into force on December 1, Orange has teamed up with car manufacturer Smart to produce a motor for the safety-conscious driver who wants to talk and turn at the same time.
The Orange Smart City-Coupe is the first car to in the UK to feature Bluetooth technology as standard so the driver can make and take calls without taking their hands off the wheel. Bluetooth is activated by pressing a button on the rear view mirror. Drivers can dial by speaking the name of the person they want to call and the conversation is broadcast through the car speakers. The new technology also enables the phone to link up wirelessly to a laptop or PDA.
Available in any colour you want from mid-October – as long as it’s black – the Smart City-Coupe is expected to retail for £8995. Customers receive a Sony Ericsson T610, a six month subscription to Orange and a Bluetooth kit as part of the package.
However smart doesn’t have any plans to roll out the technology across the whole of its range and so far only 100 of the special edition cars have been built.
