Orange launches Chinese browser in Egypt

Chinese search engine company Baidu has developed a browser which France Telecom Orange will be pre-loading on the Android smartphones that it sells in Africa in 2013.

Orange is making the browser -- called El Browser -- available first via Mobinil, the Egyptian operator of which it has owned 94% since May 2012. The browser is already available in Arabic and English, says Orange, and a French version is in development.

Marc Rennard, Orange’s senior executive vice president for Africa and the Middle East, said: “Demand for Android devices in Egypt has doubled in the second half of [2012].”

Orange claims the Baidu browser is more data efficient than other smartphone browsers, reducing the amount of data consumed by 30-90%. Orange and Baidu have launched the Egyptian version with one-click links to preferred services, including Facebook, Twitter, MSN and Yahoo!, though not Google.