Tag Archive for 'Disney'

Rumour: Disney to launch the iPhone in Japan

Published by Stuart Dredge on November 23, 2007 in Biz & Tech and Handsets. 0 Comments

disney_iphone.jpgFile this under ‘Highly speculative’, but it’s so juicy I couldn’t resist posting it. Wireless Watch Japan has a theory that Apple may choose to sell its iPhone in Japan via the soon-to-launch Disney MVNO.

Why? The site suggests that Apple’s favoured revenue share agreement (it takes a percentage of voice and data revenues from iPhone subscribers on its partner operators) won’t go down too well with the established Japanese operators, but may be appealing for Disney as a way of launching its MVNO with a bang.

Meanwhile, beyond Mickey, Donald and the rest, Disney has plenty of movies and music which could be sold through Apple’s iTunes Store for iPhone users. WWJ says it has other evidence that such a deal is likely, but has buried it behind its subscription wall, so I can’t tell you what it is.

Realistic? Apple and Disney working together would be a formiddable partnership, but one with several titanic egos involved. Furthermore, I wonder if Disney would be happy to subsume its branding to Apple’s - the prospect of an iPhone with a Disney logo on it is near-unthinkable. Still, this is one rumour to watch in the coming months.

(via Wireless Watch Japan)



Disney drops failed mobile service

Published by Chris Leonard on September 28, 2007 in Biz & Tech. 0 Comments

banner_DisneyLogoDither.gifDisney has quietly pulled the plug on its mobile virtual network Disney Mobile, and will stop the service at the end of the year.

The Walt Disney company said the reason was the difficulty it faced getting its offering into retail stores despite parents’ enthusiasm for the service which let them track the location of the child’s phone.

Disney subscribers bought special handsets with links to services offering branded content like ringtones, videos and more, and each was equipped to show its location on an online map, and for parents to limit how the phone was used.

Disney has stopped sales with immediate effect but will continue supporting its handsets until the end of this year. Disney has said it will reimburse parents for handsets and accessories bought from it.

Disney is currently talking to US operators about offering its popular services like the handset tracking service.

This isn’t the first time Disney has failed to set the mobile world alight. Last year it dropped its ESPN-branded mobile service, again because it wasn’t profitable. Like the plans for the Disney-branded service, the content and services from the ESPN one were offered to operators as a content offering.

[Disney Mobile website]

[From Cellular News]