Is there anything stunning about the "Orange Wednesday" application that just popped up in the UK Ovi Store? Probably not, but there is more to it though, with Qt for developers, marketing for company strategy, and a great cinema listings app for UK users. Read on...

But hold on, it's actually part of one of the more successful network incentive programmes. Orange Wednesdays, which give every Orange phone owner a 2 for 1 offer at pretty much any cinema in the UK (just on a Wednesday, keep up), and offers at a bundle of Pizza restaurants as well, is a long running (seven years and counting) promotion that's one of the hidden super benefits of being on Orange that's still attracting, and retaining, customers to the network.

So in that sense it's an application that's building an emotional connection between a user and a brand, something I've talked about previously. It's cementing a relationship that can only continue if you stay on the Orange network in the UK, good for reducing churn, and it provides the information you need.

And for the keen watcher of the Symbian ecosystem, the app is coded in Qt, and looks none the worse for it. You want proof that Qt can handle the appearance of an S60 application, interface with the phone and network services, and still be a simple install process? This is the one to show off.

But is it any good? The simple answer is yes.

The core of the application could be used by any UK movie fan – it's a list of the films on current release , with a text preview of the film, movie poster image, and reviews from publications such as View London and Time Out. Upcoming releases allow you to see what's, well, going to be released in the near future so you can see if anything coming up is of interest.

You can call up the movie trailers of the films that are showing so you can go on more than just the text that's displayed. The app seamlessly hands this over to the S60 media player for the streaming video (watch your bandwidth if you're out and about though!)

Finally you've a tab that allows you to sort out your 2 for 1 code via SMS – which works for Orange monthly, pay as you go, or broadband users.

Orange Wednesdays is a great example for application developers. At a company level, it enhances the product and provides a great service that helps maintain a good relationship with customers. For developers, it shows a rich media, connected application coded in QT. And for users it's a great little 'what's on at the movies' app. Recommend... even if you're not on Orange.

Grab the Orange Wednesday app from the Ovi Store.

-- Ewan Spence, July 2010.