The Failed Disney Mobile Phone Service

[@missybarbour6885]

The 00's really were the wild west of consumer technology.

[@richardludwig3673]

It really was! For those of us who were tech geeks back then it was always a gamble if the tech you were investing in was going to be compatible and last more than 6 months. It was exciting but also fun!!

[@UmmYeahOk]

Richard Ludwig I remember my mom having several gift certificates to a site called Amazon. She ended up using them out of fear that the company wouldn't be around long. Back then she wouldn't even dream of putting her credit card information online, not even for online banking.

[@UmmYeahOk]

Those days were amazing! The only downside was the slow speeds.

[@MattMcIrvin]

The first things I ever bought online were plane tickets. This was sometime in the mid-90s. At the time, to buy a plane ticket, what you did was to schlep your butt down to a travel agency and wait in a long line to talk to an agent, who had this mysterious terminal that listed all the available flights and their ticket prices and could be used to make reservations. Then you'd carry out this extended negotiation with the agent: "Well, suppose I go on Thursday instead of Friday? What's available then?" "Well, there's one at 11:50 and one at 2:05..." Etc., etc. And the whole time, if you were like me, you were thinking "Man, if only they just let me use that magic terminal myself! It can't be that hard!" So then Thomas Cook/American Express Travel put up this crude website for making your own reservations, and, wow, basically they just let you use that terminal. It was a revelation to me. I gladly gave them my credit card number. It was horrifically insecure--I don't even think they were using HTTPS! You just sort of hoped nobody had thought of lifting your credit card information.

[@Pasi123]

@@UmmYeahOk We had a 10/10mbps fiber back in 2006 :P

[@justincarawan-carawanco.pu1639]

Disney went into the cell phone industry. Because of course, they did. Why am I only hearing about this, now?!

[@camtwan1]

Because it was probably before you were born

[@Bruh-jw8mg]

@@camtwan1 idon.t now abot you. But I was borne in the yeat 1902

[@CheetoFireCat]

I never heard of it and I was born in 1980 lol

[@justincarawan-carawanco.pu1639]

@@CheetoFireCat December of 1989.

[@DatMuslimDad]

Justin Carawan Fr like I’m 20 and this the first time me hearing his shit

[@finnkolja]

"You must be the Coolest Mom ever" *proceeds to stalk son on Google maps*

[@sasukeuchiha998]

Mom sends a strongly worded text, "I see you spending more time with your dad. I know this divorce is hard on you, but you are in my care right now and I want you home!"

[@SandyDawn17]

@@sasukeuchiha998 XD That hits a little close to home for some.

[@kolonarulez5222]

Do you think it would've faired any better if they put mouse ears on the phones?

[@richardgonzales3341]

Cute, but as soon as you try to put in your pocket you will realize the major design flaw.

[@kolonarulez5222]

It was probably scrapped at the first design revision!

[@memeshack9454]

@@kolonarulez5222 peepeepoopoo

[@Sean-D78]

Why are you replying to comments about Poo?

[@RainyRunningRiver]

Yes.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Disney is extremely popular in Japan (to the point they turned Stitch into an anime) so it’s no surprise Disney Mobile is still around there. They also have their own music genre, D-pop

[@UmmYeahOk]

"D-Pop?" I thought that was just Disney classics sped up to chipmunk mode, with a splash of eurobeats thrown in.

[@LouisSubearth]

@@UmmYeahOk that's just Disney Eurobeat

[@taydrabrookshire347]

Give blockbuster to them and wait and see.

[@gisselleayala93]

Hold up, there’s a Stich anime!?

[@JeremyBX]

99% of people who found this in their recommended probably said: “...disney made a phone?”

[@retrosh6ck905]

That is correct

[@XUIW]

Only 90s and 2000s kids would know.

[@kevinrodriguez4881]

I I I was born in the 90s and I didn’t know until now 😜😂

[@hanifnada17]

Correction : 90's western world kids

[@lvcienes]

That's me

[@emmalane3528]

"3" is the name of a service provider in europe, mainly UK and Ireland, that's their logo showing so it's clearly a partnership rather than saying "it's the 3rd one"

[@hayattitan]

Emma Lane 3 is also an indo service provider

[@jdcsiahaan]

@@hayattitan....that comes from the uk

[@bitelaserkhalif]

@@jdcsiahaan Hutchinson?

[@alexandernoname6339]

They are also big in Austria

[@TheMightyKinkle]

Wooooo Tesco Mobile!!!!

[@mr.mundee4025]

We all know the real king of the flip phone was The Motorola Razr

[@gibbygibsongg]

Blackberry for life 💪

[@Pasi123]

I don't think the Motorola Razr was even sold where I live. Blackberrys wasn't sold here either. IMO the king(s) of the flip phones are Nokia N92, N93 and N93i. Those Nokia phones are smartphones so they had multitasking, downloadable apps & games, WiFi, 3G etc Fun fact: The first iPhone didn't have downloadable apps until 2008. It also didn't have multitasking or 3G connectivity etc.

[@Windows98love]

I have one!! They're actually not that cool tbh... But that doesn't mean they aren't cool!

[@Windows98love]

@@Pasi123 *oh*

[@Juichi]

@@Pasi123 Truth! The Razr was a terrible, flimsy phone that couldn't do much. However it was the most popular phone in the US. The first iPhones were a bit of a joke compared the phones across the globe, but Americans loved them and they ended up pushing the market in a direction. Personally I was a fan of Sony Ericsson (mostly the candy bars) until they started to stumble and was going to switch to Nokia but they started to stumble too.

[@empresscami]

I remember my friemd Courtney had a Disney phone and I wamted one Soooo bad, it seemed so cool. I'm glad my parents stuck out with Verizon...

[@memeshack9454]

Smelly poop

[@Sean-D78]

Your correct. Poo is smelly.

[@Esdeath_0001]

@@memeshack9454 you're correct my Nut is Fat

[@memeshack9454]

@@Esdeath_0001 busting phatty nuts

[@NaschAzure]

@@memeshack9454 the fuck??

[@solomoncumquats776]

Oh god, looking at those flip phones is like going in a time machine

[@hayleyscomet3447]

Solomoncumquats G ikr! I miss the good old days.

[@mala5176]

@@hayleyscomet3447 ur like 12 stfu lmao

[@balllord8580]

I used to steal my moms flip phone

[@Jay-uu5lu]

Yeah but there are still flip phones such as the alcatel go flip and the Samsung folder 2

[@MouseyBusiness]

The fact of the matter is this was only about 2006/07. Not that long ago, but technology has progressed at such a rapid pace that it feels like forever ago.

[@donpotthast6280]

I was at guest relations for this project. Still remember two of the customers very specifically. As well as a number of issues with the service that had easy fixes. And I was there until the last day. The best customer was this little girl that kept calling to get Hannah Montana’s phone number. She would pretend to be her and say she lost her phone. Always a pleasure to tell her we don’t have access to the information for celebrities. Yes, Miley Cyrus had a Disney Mobile account, but I have no idea if she actually used it.

[@Sarah_Gravydog316]

that was probably me. sorry.

[@minhduong6593]

I’m surprised that Disney didn’t team up with Apple to give their loyal customers the best from both of those companies.

[@Marcus51090]

Minh Duong Steve jobs absolutely fucking detested Disney and Tim Cook doesn’t like them either

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

@@Marcus51090 No he didn't. He detested Michael Eisner. Big difference. Jobs gladly sold Pixar to Disney once Eisner left and even served on their board until he died. He actually had a pretty good relationship with Disney and Iger.

[@Marcus51090]

Rob Plays I stand corrected

[@Clay3613]

@@MidwaytoMainStreet The irony, Iger is ruining the company. Much like Iger, Jobs never actually built anything himself.

[@Clay3613]

@Mickey Mouse Good thing he's retiring in 2021.

[@Lyn-ur5qx]

ugh the japanese disney mobile phones are SO PRETTY wtf!!!

[@raidenstark315]

2000's japanese cellphones are beatiful more ahead of the time

[@jonnda]

Marketing success, lol. Yeah, sometimes companies try again in Japan and succeed... ...And then don’t bring it back here. There are a few Japanese cars that I like that don’t exist in the USA.

[@emilyjones212]

i mean it makes sense they are marketed to women. and to marketing companys what do women want pretty things so make them look pretty. id like to have one of them just because they look so cute

[@Seawolf.Gaming]

@@jonnda Can you name some of those cars? I would like to learn more.

[@strangepigeon6729]

I would probably own a phone like that if I could. Most of the devices you can get nowadays are all black or silver and are just really boring.

[@ZGlix]

I never heard of Disney Mobile till today

[@KamiylahBey]

ZGlix same

[@timothypatterson5679]

same

[@randomwithnopurpose]

same

[@Haze420_]

ZGlix Same here pal

[@dylan-fnaf1679]

Same

[@MericaninEU]

I saw you a few weeks ago at Epcot. You were under Space Ship Earth. I kept looking back at you. I told my friend I knew you from somewhere. The second I left the park I knew how I knew you. Great content!

[@wdjkncvgdfsbyt34jgvi]

Its Disney mobile 3 because three is popular mobile network in europe (the '3' is their logo) :)

[@arnemaeschaelck5012]

Jess I mean... popular? they're only active in the UK... compared to Vodafone and T-Mobile/Orange who have their own networks in multiple countries... or Lycamobile, doesn't have their own network but operates in almost all of Europe and outside of that

[@Bonsi1998]

@@arnemaeschaelck5012 I don't know about other European countries, but Three has been active here in Italy too for many, many years. Also, I had the Disney Mobile 3 phone when I was a child. This video brings me back memories! :)

[@fynniels12]

@@arnemaeschaelck5012 Denmark as well

[@filip7570]

Arne Maeschaelck they are in Sweden too

[@arnemaeschaelck5012]

Bonsi oh okay then I seem to have been misinformed. Do they have a network in all of these countries?

[@scrappy00001]

Strangely my first cell phone was a Mickey themed one from AT&T. If I remember correctly that was ‘in ‘99 or 2000.

[@GCJACK83]

I remember my first cell phone. It was one of those legendary Nokias that could destroy a tank if dropped from high altitude and still keep working afterwards.

[@Deadhog_Rage]

I feel like every video I watch about a phone, the Steve Jobs video comes out of nowhere every time

[@TheZaaz]

That's because the first iPhone was legendary for what it did for the market. However, nowadays iPhones are completely overpriced piles of garbage and dung.

[@Deadhog_Rage]

Joshua Butt my iPhone 2G, it got some minor lcd damage (that gray blob on top), w a y older than my 8, and my 8 had so many board issues, I’m currently on my 3rd iPhone 8, no issues yet but the other 2 kept having WiFi and Bluetooth issues Ironically as soon as I typed “WiFi and”, Bluetooth showed up in my word suggestions so I guess Apple knows about it lol

[@myheartiswriting]

More like on cue every time. The minute they get into "so why wasn't this successful? Welll..." Jobs. Basically Steve Jobs. If you have a question about phones, your answer will include Steve Jobs. When it comes to technological breakthroughs, the iPhone (and smartphones in general) was the biggest technological milestone that happened since we landed on the moon. Of course it's going to be relevant.

[@MattMcIrvin]

A few of your "person using mobile phone" B-roll shots show the T-Mobile Sidekick, which I worked on for a while (I spent a lot of time working on UI performance of the model at 5:47 ). That was an actually successful phone aimed at the youth market, and it's interesting to compare what they did to what Disney did. It seems like Disney was marketing primarily to parents, not to kids--it was just assumed that the kids would want a cell phone and the pitch was that the Disney service had the features that would make their parents OK with it. The Sidekick actually appealed to kids, though. It was a proto-smartphone that concentrated on various forms of text messaging, with a huge QWERTY keyboard, and there were all kinds of outre branded versions with celebrity names on them and such. There was a really cheap data plan and the killer app was an AIM client, so you could text all day long without getting hit with the huge charges that would accrue from SMS in the days before flat-rate SMS plans. That was what teenagers actually wanted (though I suppose their parents liked the lower bills).

[@jSyndeoMusic]

Ah so you were at Danger? How did people react when Andy left to start working on what became Android? I hear lots of people left to go with him on that, but some stayed behind and got acquired by Microsoft to build the Kin.

[@MattMcIrvin]

@@jSyndeoMusic I was hired after Rubin left, worked mostly on the later models that had full-color screens and scalable fonts. The last and best ones were actually finished after the Microsoft acquisition--they'd wanted to kill everything immediately, but there were contractual obligations. I was in Massachusetts, in a small remote office, but we made full use of our own tech to communicate. And, yes, we eventually all got pulled into the Kin project. Everything that could possibly be wrong with that was; by the time we actually did any work on it, all the major design decisions had been made and it was too late to change anything. Microsoft really didn't want to deal with a dinky satellite office in Massachusetts, though, so we got jettisoned a few months before the phone's very brief release, and I witnessed the final disaster from a distance.

[@rainbowbeetle]

my mom had one of those! it was cool!

[@MattMcIrvin]

@BinkTinks I still miss two-thumb-typing on the Sidekick keyboard--for writing text, it was a better experience than anything you can do with a touchscreen. After the real Sidekick got killed, Samsung actually put out a "Sidekick 4G" which was a low-end Android slider phone with a vaguely similar keyboard, but it wasn't the same.

[@jacovot5424]

It's really neat to hear you folks talk about the production of the Sidekick! I never owned one or knew about it, but I might try to find a used one and see what I missed out on.

[@mariusro1987]

Reporter : "So ,why did you created the Disney Mobile ? " Disney : "Hello ! I like money ! "

[@nascarsimracing1]

I REMEMBER SEEING THE DISNEY MOBILE AD ON TV BACK IN THE DSY WHEN I WAS LITTLE. THE ONE WITH THE FLIPPHONE THAT HAD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN!! I thought i was never gonna see that again!! Nostalgia!!!

[@maiyawellington1862]

Nobody: Wow you must be the coolest mom *everrrrrrr*

[@Aydentv]

Japan: has anime Also Japan: Needs Mouse Mobile...

[@RachelM922]

As a teenager who still has a flip phone, I feel very included watching all these commercial clips 😂

[@ldtobi1]

Oh, I when I read the title I thought that the video was going to be about a Disney car. “The Disney Mobile!” “Robin, get in the Disney Mobile!”

[@CaptainJZH]

Walt: "Roy, to the DisneyMobile!" *mickey mouse ears spin*

[@SirBlackReeds]

More like "Ironheart, get in the Disney Mobile!"

[@kellyweingart3692]

Buzz Lightyear: “To the Disney Mobile...and beyond!”

[@robinder_]

here i am guys

[@robinhyperlord9053]

Holy Disney, Batman!

[@Phazyne]

So weird I remember that commercial as a child but I don’t remember Disney having a phone. Felt like it never happened.

[@MrDohers]

Worth pointing out that Jobs was on the Board of Directors of Disney at the time and the largest shareholder at the company, which gives some credence to the idea that iPhone is linked to Disney Mobile’s demise. He did have a close relationship to Iger

[@MrDohers]

Jobs also apparently told the head of ESPN “Your phone is the dumbest f***ing idea I have ever heard”

[@richardludwig3673]

Dohers Was that around the time of the Rokr? 🤣 Seriously though, I’m surprised there weren’t more Disney/Apple connections but Disney had a partnership with HP at the time.

[@brickman409]

Good point!

[@Butterscott_NJ]

@@MrDohers It's literally just an ad phone. That's what I don't get. The whole phone bases itself around the fact that you are a die hard ESPN ad and want to take in everything ESPN. Who wants that?

[@dennisfischerjr5643]

The irony of watching this on a smartphone 🤣

[@GrimBirthday]

not actually ironic.

DJ there is no irony on that, learn to use the word

[@mikerichardson4772]

" I do not think it means what you think it means.” - Inigo Montoya

[@ziyaadjamil2324]

Are you watching this on the Disney Huawei phone?

[@thecrazydisneyparksfanatic921]

Now, if they waited I’d buy this so hard, if they had a Disney smartphone, touch screen and all I’d be on this so fast

[@LemonadetvYT]

In 2019... **Disney mobile releases** Me and the bois: Time to storm Disney headquarters

[@beez1717]

Disney could have easily given Disney themed phones to kids and it would have sold like hotcakes! I have zero idea why they didn't do that!

[@EeveeFromAlmia]

MVNMs sound like they tried to make apps before apps where a thing

[@Juichi]

Apps existed, but instead of the app stores being run by Apple and Google they were run by the carriers. There would be an app on your phone for the carrier to buy ringtones, games or anything else for your phone.

[@alexandernoname6339]

In Germany MVNOs went a totally different route, nearly all big retailers and especially the discount supermarkets have their own MVNO (Aldi Mobile,Lidl Mobil). They mostly offer cheap prepaid tariffs. You just pickup the SIM card at checkout aisle when you're shopping for groceries and register it online. And some are really popular I remember back when I was a teen nearly all my friends and their families had Aldi Mobile, because for just 2.99€ you would get unlimited calls and SMS to every other Aldi number. Other MVNOs here specialise in international calls for immigrants that want to call home.

[@Sarah_Gravydog316]

basically yes. It's like, why get a KZbin phone, when i already have KZbin on my phone. the Disney phone was like a cheaper phone with less features, which is fine, but consumers always want more features & more upgrades

[@camdudzinski5206]

Lets also not forget they owned a Hockey team and a Baseball team. Both they have sold now. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

[@supersportgt2120]

2004: Wow you just have the coolest mom ever. 2019: wow you must have the cheapest mom ever. 2046: WOW let’s put it in a Museum.

[@vermin913]

I worked for the Amp'd Mobile call center, and my BF worked for Helio. It was a wild time in the cell phone industry. It was fun to watch all the MVNOs fold in 2007.

[@Satan-Is-a-Lawyer]

0:54 oh man I used to beg my mom for those phones when I was 5. The nostalgia.

[@pixelwanderer1962]

Virgin mobile, a phone service targeted towards teens. Seems about right.

[@adp5185]

The Disney Mobile smartphones are mostly manufactured by Fujitsu(a Japanese brand) and can be bought for very cheap in Vietnam. It only costs around $20 for a secondhand phone

[@christiandacanay3086]

The question is- will it work on a US phone service?

[@xp_studios7804]

Next Disney is going into the news industry oh

[@avaesthetics]

u R a pRopHet

[@MM-vq5xb]

XP_Studios Fox News?

[@spillthetea9854]

They already do... ABC news... And I-

[@JamesLawner]

I distinctly remember seeing Disney-themed phones geared towards kids back in the early-to-mid-2000s, does anyone else remember?

[@Sarah_Gravydog316]

yes there were

[@dayoldbread1696]

​@@Sarah_Gravydog316 disney actually did make a special edition phone for the disney mobile service. I still have the steamboat willie edition one from when I was a kid. It's still pretty much brand new since I only played games on it back then and would put it back in the box when I wasn't using it. Eventually one day I put it in the closet and forgot it was there for years. I just found it recently and was thinking about posting a video here showing the phone and content on it. It has disney ringtones, a steamboat willie theme, steamboat willie cartoons, and came with a pin.

[@patricknava5158]

DisneyMobile was my second job out of high school. Most everyone who walked by the kiosk in Downtown Disney at Disneyland didn't want a phone plan but instead wanted the Disney themed accessories or sim cards for those traveling from overseas. The video is wrong saying that there was not a Disney themed phone... there was a "limited edition" Steamboat Willie phone we sold at a discount with a phone plan activation, otherwise it was $300 for the phone by itself in box. Most of those I sold were to Disney buffs who saw it as a future collectors item.

[@dayoldbread1696]

Wow that's really cool! I actually still have the steamboat willie one in my room pretty much brand new! My parents had gotten it for me back then but I only used it to play games once in a while because I was a dumb kid lol. I'm surprised I didn't scratch it up but I always kept it in the box when I wasn't using it. There's a few steamboat willie cartoons that came pre downloaded with it, the outside has a steamboat willie design, and there's disney ringtones and a game that came pre installed on it too! I was thinking about posting a video here on KZbin showing off the phone and its old content, I never knew it was rare but I still think it's pretty cool!

[@marisrandomchannel6013]

Groupon Ad: "and it's Stranger" This Video: 0:00 "Disney is no Stranger" Me: 🤤

[@Vulpes_Ailurus]

I remember ads for this. I was always telling my mom we needed to get Disney Mobile. She said we didn’t need it.

[@westep4273]

Man it's wild to think just how huge the company is like the CEO is just swimming in money

[@Zeverinsen]

Ok, but Disney mobile could do pretty well today if they do it like they did in Japan. I'm sure a lot of parents would love to actually have some control over their children's phone usage, because it's pretty rampant nowadays.

[@plop199]

I actually had Disney mobile for my family. It actually worked very well. I had complete control over everything for around approximately $80 a month.

[@Spintechfilms]

When your a kid back then and you waited for the "night hours" so you can start making all the texts and calls you want to your friends or girlfriends/boyfriends amd just talk and talk

[@secondsein7749]

9:20 can't blame Disney completely as they were going on with what they thought were the correct choice at the time. They thought that making a heavily Disney designed phone would turn away potential customers that might thought that Disney phone look like toys. And let's be real, a heavily branded Disney flip phone would look like a toy that you can buy from toy shop, battery not included. Meanwhile, the reason Disney phone or rather smartphone today could work is because its kinda hard to make smartphone look like toys and very easy to make them fashionable. Heck, if I was born at the time, and Disney actually made a heavily branded flip phone, I might not buy it. Their smartphone however... It's a damned if they do and damned if they don't moment at the time.

[@NikLikesThings]

This is hugely fascinating and weird. I was in Japan earlier this year - I wish I had kept an eye out for one

[@datttt8867]

Same! I was in Japan months ago

[@GamerSlackZ]

i bought some japanese disney phone at a junk shop, didn't even know they existed

[@soski7200]

Flip phones: where the best ones here now iPhone: step aside, your considered ancient technology now. Flip phones: y we not used anymore :(

[@myshreksbox]

I remember the commercials for Disney mobile and I was always like “oh my god that’s so cool”

[@meredythcosta6977]

My childhood best friends had this as their first phones and I HATED going over their house because the WiFi also had parental controls 😂

[@White_Recluse]

How was that so bad?

[@meredythcosta6977]

White Recluse because my house was on that was on the honor system, and on trust. I had no parental controls, but there were rules. I knew that if I broke the rules then I would be in trouble, so my parents never needed to do parental controls. When I went over their house I was subject to the parental controls, meaning my phone barely worked. I could text, talk and use a very very restricted amount of apps. Minecraft was blocked (which the 5 of us loved playing together), FNAF (another thing we would play together), KZbin (we would watch a lot of GameTheory together and a lot of RPG Let’s Plays, and then make our own theories together) etc etc etc.

[@Arjay404]

Disney should give this another try, partner up with a company that makes low/mid range phones, let the phone company do all the phone things, hell they could even use the same phones that they already have, but let Disney handle all the looks aspect of the phone, take android and put a Disney skin on it. Go into settings and disable all possible options that allow for tracking and that type of stuff (company shouldn't be tracking kids), take the Play store and either get rid of it and add a Disney Play store, if the store can't be taken away, make a Disney curated version of the store, with either only Disney made games and apps or that plus Disney curated apps, with special attention put into not allowing any apps that track and save data and no advertisement, things can not be purchased from the phone directly if there are paid apps or in app purchases, then a adult connected phone needs to approve any purchases. There should be no advertisements because everything ON the phone would essentially be a big ad for Disney. Allow a Disney MCN only version of KZbin on the phone, no search feature and no linking to any outside the network content, so any suggestions or up next would be a Disney MCN content or if that's too restricting allow only KZbin kids on the phone, though I have no experience with KZbin kids so I have no idea how good it is at keeping children safe and not tracked, data collected or advertised to. Maybe even allow kids to earn Disney points that can be redeem at Disney stores or the parks when they play the provided games. This way Disney can earn money, the kid's family earns a 5-10% discount on a weeks stay at a Disney hotel while at the same time Disney makes money from the child's family paying for the stay at the hotel and going to the park or from simply buying merchandise. To avoid the possibility of this being seen as advertising to kids maybe the points are not visible to the kid at any point, only viewable on the parents phone.

[@Needsmoreflash]

I'm surprised Disney doesn't have their own airline

[@LouisSubearth]

If they did MCO would be their main hub, and that's not a good airport for that.

[@JeffCarroll]

EMBARQ is/was not an MVNO. It is/was a wireline phone company spun off by Sprint to offload their wireline business (what was left of United Telephone). I haven't been to any of their markets for so long that I don't know whether they're still in business.

[@thecrazydisneyparksfanatic921]

If they came back out with it again and make it like an iPhone or galaxy and can properly make it work I’d get one. Either that or work with apple and make an Disney themed iPhone

[@noellschulte1418]

Or with Android

[@alexgallagher4594]

"mom can I have the $2,000 dollar Mikey iPhone?" "Sure Billy! You can have a phone that is $2,000 and has tech from 2 gens ago.

[@xdinaryheroesluv]

@@noellschulte1418 Android doesnt make phones, they would have to choose another company like samsung or LG to use the Android OS

[@brandonreina4219]

@@xdinaryheroesluv But Samsung or LG chose Microsoft instead to use its OS

[@gabbydelapaz]

Their close competitor would be Google Fi, which is an also MVNO. $20 for unlimited data and text on a Pixel.

[@justusing6192]

See Nickelodeon?! Disney gave us a phone but you don’t wanna throw us the pear phone..😒

[@raulramirez8171]

An interesting fact you didn’t mention too was the fact that 2007, the year The iPhone came out, was also the year Steve Jobs became a part of the Disney Board of Directors after they acquired Pixar, so there’s a chance that it was also leverage from Jobs for Disney not to be competing with the iPhone directly/indirectly.

[@fawkewe]

I don’t think Steve was very worried about this 😂.

[@jobilatin8380]

I never knew there was a Disney mobile here in the Philippines.

[@dariusvilla5680]

My first cell phone was a Disney Phone. I got it when I was 11. And 6 years later, I got my first smartphone.

[@caiteybetts1423]

Right...

[@BlueGreyWolf]

2:59 - Nostalgia overload......for anyone that had internet and knew about this.

[@justincarawan-carawanco.pu1639]

0:15 Mickey may be front and center, but I see Stitch, back there! 😁

[@robinhyperlord9053]

Pretty cool.

[@metamorphic_archives]

Here in the Philippines, Globe Telecom made a Disney Phone in about 2018 I believe

[@lonefoxxo9848]

If Disney revived this phone service. They’d charge you $20 per phone call.

[@TitoTimTravels]

I guess Disney and Globe got along pretty well. Here in the Philippines we have DisneyLife, through Globe. Pretty good selection of content for under $3 USD a month (p149). I wish it had more old content - I really want the old Wonderful World of Disney tv shows...

[@christiandacanay3086]

Huh. As a Filipino myself I was not aware we had Disney Mobile and DisneyLife, as I was already in the US that time when these came to be. I heard that one show- Legend of The Three Caballeros- was exclusive to DisneyLife there before it debuted in the US on Disney+.

[@samlarson4098]

I discovered that Disney use to make their own phone by Watching this video in my KZbin recommendations.

[@VermillionRedd]

Imagine Disney OS 😂😂 Mickey mouse pops up as you turn on your phone 😂😂

[@colorbar.s]

Yikes! I'm glad this didn't take off. Let your kids have some privacy.

[@pirateboss1128]

You do know parents can use another Disney service to watch what kids do on computers to block websites and when to go to sleep right I forgot what its called

[@JenFromWebsite]

PirateBoss1 parental controls. They’re generally everywhere

[@user-uo8ny1kj4c]

@@JenFromWebsite kids can always find a backdoor.

[@Sarah_Gravydog316]

but... they don't?

[@paul28177]

Disney mobile 3 is because 3 is a European network (it was one of the first 3G networks) Japan love all things Disney - so having a Disney themed phone was a hit...i lived there for 8 years and it was mostly teenage girls that went after the Disney phones

[@BansheeResearch]

All the Disney park apps preloaded on my phone and already signed on? Sign me up. Also the more I think about it, also integrate magic band so you can use the touchpoints like the VIP tour guides where they just tap their phone

[@megnerd8954]

Every single paper I've had a choice of topic on for my MBA has been about Disney but somehow I did not know about/remember this. Your content is amazing!!

[@dobbs321_]

Killer closing. I always appreciate your writing. This last line today was succinct to say the least.

[@WhateverWhenever888]

I love these videos about mobile phones because it just shows how far we have come with mobile phones. We always take our phones for granted but we need to remember just how amazing they are, we are holding a super computer in our hands wherever we go, our phones can do anything and everything and it truly is amazing, espicially when you think that just 10 to 15 years ago we had nothing like what we have today, espicially on our mobile phones. Awesome video man! Subbed!

[@CarraigButler]

8:01 it’s called 3 because that’s the carrier name it’s like saying Disney mobile at&t or something

[@f9oeks965]

Yeah

[@Icybubba]

All I can say to this is, NO! No, no, no! Stick to the stuff you know, Disney if you want to be cool, follow one simple rule, don't mess with the flow no, no. Stick to the stuff you know!

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

On the other hand, how else are they going to find out what else they know? That same argument could have been made against them getting into the cruise industry, and now they're one of the better cruise lines. Same with Walt getting into theme parks. Part of what made Walt Disney World such a success was that quickly Disney realized that they'd rather learn the ropes of running their own hotels rather than leaving it to a hotel chain.

[@Icybubba]

@@MidwaytoMainStreet That's all true, but I was just making a High School Musical joke

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Oh. Whoops!

[@lightchipster]

I used to have a MVNO network for years as the data plan was a lot cheaper than other networks at the time.

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

I still use MVNOs. There prepaid plans tend to be cheaper still.

[@pangaeamenslijk9183]

Still sometimes are (e.g. Mint Mobile is way cheaper than pretty much anyone else offering comparable plans).

[@hkat321]

Damn I hated that time-locking shit back when I was a kid. Like your parents finally cave in and get you a cell phone but it stops working at 10pm like some kinda cinderella shit.

[@Melaninliz]

Ah...the early 2000’s.. a golden age 😂

[@CMenjii]

I'm from the Philippines and I never knew that Disney mobile existed here

[@pauleckert4321]

I wanted to get that special Mickey Mouse limited edition phone that they offered. I tried to get it but since my credit was bad they declined even though I offered to pay full price for that phone. I wanted that phone so bad it was the only phone they offered that actally had full Disney branding on it and came with some really nice extras. To this day I look for an old copy on ebay for that phone but since it was a limited edition phone they are really hard to come by.

[@thatkidAndy7897]

Who remembers the time Disney almost bought DirectTV

[@katherinereese462]

Could you post the transcripts under your videos again? I know you used to on old videos and really miss it. Love the channel!

[@GamingKing545]

3:22 You Must Be The Most Controlling Mom Ever

[@samcody9681]

thanks for this video I forgot about ESPN and Disney mobile. And I'm surprised Disney Mobile is still going in japan.

[@richardludwig3673]

Me too!!! I thought it was gone years ago!

[@nightrocc3997]

In 2024 im calling it now, there’s gonna be a Disney Console to rival Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft

[@vrummer1]

That ESPN phone is badass tho

[@JeremyBX]

2:12 jesus christ. That accident

[@TheGoodWario]

I used Three mobile while I was in the UK. I have no idea why it's called Three at all...

[@irisflorianandromeda]

Maybe because it was... third best out of the uk phone providers... okay idk.

[@asheiou]

@@irisflorianandromeda better than EE or O2

[@Kilbreezi]

It was the first 3G network in the UK.

[@RainyRunningRiver]

Back when there was only 3 bars?

[@TheGoodWario]

@@Kilbreezi Ah, thanks!

[@Sammmmmmmm617]

Disney Mobile: We'll monitor the shit out of your kids! "Do do do do doooooooooo"

[@mulethedonkey2579]

Could they still call parents anytime, even off limits? Cux that's sorta the point of them buying their kids phones

[@nar0156]

The comment about Disney Mobile Japan still being a thing was so ironically timed as they went out of business this September.

[@christiandacanay3086]

They stopped the service?!

[@DaveKay]

Always fun and interesting information! I love the idea of them trying new businesses and markets. But interesting to hear about the mobile phone business.

[@TheCalaTV]

Disney mobile 3 is legend! They gave a whole village for free internet!(in Italy) NO JOKE! (some good hackers) At that time internet was expensive. GG WP Disney

[@lordthexii]

3 (Tre, Italian for three) is a phone provider in Italy. There was no Disney 2 or 1 because the f-ing phone provider is literally called 3 xD Confusion I know!

[@jeebies1083]

I'm from Philippines, and is subscribed to globe, but not once have I ever heard about Disney mobile

[@markauble3928]

Superb Rob! PLEASE do a special on the business story behind WED!

[@brachycephalicphil4001]

god this was my first phone i got whenever i was 12. I was embarrassed as hell

[@TugsP]

Video idea: The magic bands that do interesting lights/sounds rather than the normal ones.

[@Wildfire336]

Tugs B I did not know some could do that