The long-awaited arrival of the Disney+ streaming service is finally here. Disney+ has finally arrived for users in the United States bringing tons of content along with it, and now the official Android app has debuted for smartphones, tablets, and Android TV.
After our deluge of Pixel 4 leaks, things slowed down a bit today with another Pixel 4 software leak, renders of the OnePlus 8, and a report on a new speed test feature coming to the Nest Hub. Alongside that, however, we’ve got new details on a “Glow” skin for Fortnite on Samsung devices and more.
As we kick off another week, some of the biggest stories of the day included the reveal of Google Play Pass, the Galaxy Fold’s return the US, and more. In other news, Disney+ is now accepting pre-orders and offering discounts to some while TiVo is making a few interesting moves.
Pixel 4 leaks keep coming, and they’re honestly getting tiring, but there was a ton of other Google news today with new Photos features and more. In some of the day’s other stories, Disney+ went live in one country with a ton of content, Vudu debuts a new Family Play filtering feature, and more.
At its investor day conference, Disney officially revealed a ton of new details regarding its streaming service, Disney+. Amongst the barrage of new shows and movies coming to the platform, the company also confirmed that Disney+ would support Chromecast, and possibly even Android TV.
Disney, and its various properties, are getting ready to enter the online streaming market in the coming years. With a number of properties — notably Star Wars, Marvel, and sports — and platforms already available today, the media juggernaut announced a strategic partnership with Google around advertising.
If you’ve ever been bored while waiting in line for a ride at a Disney theme park, the company has a solution – a kind of reverse augmented reality app …
With today’s official launch of the Galaxy S9 and S9+, Samsung has released a new AR Emoji pack that allows you to look like Disney’s Mickey or Minnie Mouse. Here’s how to install and use the new AR Emojis on your brand new Galaxy flagship smartphone…
Samsung’s Galaxy S9 does a lot of great things with its camera from the variable aperture sensor to the super slow-motion mode. However, AR Emojis don’t fall into that category. With a new add-on, though, there’s at least something kind of fun with them…
Street View within Google Maps has always been a fun and easy way to virtually walk through the streets of different cities and towns. Now, Google has sent a camera crew into Disneyland and Disney World to capture the magic found within 11 Disney Parks…
Just when you think there can’t possibly be room for yet another messaging app, along comes Disney with what looks like a decent attempt to prove us wrong. Disney Mix is a new messaging app designed for use by kids as young as four, using the tagline ‘chat, share, play.’
The free app offers stickers from just about every Disney movie you could name, customized cartoon avatars, built-in games and safety features designed to keep things family-friendly …
Since it launched in 2007, Google Street View has captured both mundane and exotic locations, spanning from your front yard to majestic mountains and ancient cities from around the world. Most recently, the portable Street View backpack was spotted at Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Epcot parks in Florida…
Starting tomorrow, Verizon carrier stores will be offering a free Star Wars-themed Google Cardboard viewer. Verizon’s page mentions that the offer is only available to Verizon customers, but whether that mean subscribers or just anybody shopping in the store is unclear.
This is part of a larger promotional campaign between the carrier, Google, and Disney. The viewers are meant to be used to watch the Star Wars virtual reality experience that is coming out on the same day. According to Lucasfilm, the experience will tie directly into the beginning of The Force Awakens. If you already have a Cardboard viewer, be sure to download the Star Wars Android and iOS app to watch the VR video.
Four versions of the viewers are up for grabs, with a BB-8, R2D2, Kylo Ren, and Stormtropper design on the front and Verizon branding on the side. Supplies are limited and expect Star Wars fans to be the first to try and get what will certainly end up being a collectible item. Do comment below if you are successful in getting one.
Google’s partnership with Lucasfilm and Disney to promote the new Star Wars movie has already seen everything from themed backgrounds in Gmail to an X-Wing marking your position in Google Maps, but the company is not done yet.
Searching for ‘a long time ago in a galaxy far far away’ leads to a great Easter egg, where the results are shown Star Wars intro style. It’s not just a dumb graphic, it’s the real search results, and each is clickable.
And there are Google Cardboard VR experiences (and custom viewers) coming soon …
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Not quite in time for the influx of visitors that surely happened earlier this summer, Disney has now released an official Disneyland app for Android. As you might expect, the app is intended to basically be your companion during your visit, allowing you to do everything from buy your tickets in advance to browse detailed maps of the park…
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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnQ5gE4Rbxo&ab_channel=disneyjunior]
Google and Disney teamed up to create a new kids show with a focus on getting young viewers interested in computer science, the LA Times noted in a report today. The show, Miles from Tomorrowland, was created by Disney Junior with Google engineers sitting in as consultants.
The two companies are especially focused on getting girls interested in technology by featuring female characters designed to change kids’ perception of the industry. From the Times report:
In “Miles From Tomorrowland,” Loretta is a super cool older sister/computer whiz sidekick who records data from the adventures and discoveries and can find the answer to almost anything with the assistance of a special wrist device known as “the bracelex.”
One episode has Loretta writing code that helps her find another planet.
The show’s creator says that his cooperation with Google has shown him that “you can do anything with coding”—a message Disney hopes to instill in its audience. Miles from Tomorrowland premieres on February 6th.
From 9to5Toys.com:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZZBmPGuEVY?rel=0]
Google Play has listed the soundtrack to Disney’s runaway hit “Frozen” as a free download. Adored by fans and critics, this film became the highest-grossing animated film of all time (passing Toy Story 3), and its infectious soundtrack has spurred live performances and a sing-along versions.
This version of the soundtrack includes 32 songs, a mixture of traditional songs and instrumentals. It, of course, includes the larger than life hit “Let It Go.” There’s also a 2-disc Deluxe Version if you still need more Frozen goodness in your life.
The only way this deal could be better is if Google threw in some warm hugs from Olaf. Start downloading!
It’s priced at $6.99 at iTunes and Amazon.
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Back in February, Apple and Disney teamed up on a new app called Movies Anywhere that allowed iOS users to access their library of purchased movies—whether bought on the iTunes Store, DVD, or other media (with the appropriate redemption code in the box).
Today, Disney has launched the same service for Android users. Movies Anywhere owners will now be able to access their movie library featuring titles from Disney, Pixar, and Marvel from any of their devices. Because this is a cross-platform solution, movies previously purchased on the iTunes Store will now be available to users on Android devices, and iOS users will be able to watch Disney movies they’ve purchased from the Google Play Store.
Google made a big announcement today for new content arriving for users of its $35 Chromecast HDMI streaming stick. The latest additions to the lineup include the WatchESPN app, Major League Soccer via the MLS Matchday app and MLS LIVE premium services, photos and video from Google+ apps, as well as TV and video content from the Crunchyroll video service:
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Dish and The Walt Disney company announced today that they have reached a multi-year distribution deal that will see Dish subscribers gain access to a ton of Disney content including its ABC and ESPN networks. That means if you subscribe to Dish, you’ll now be able to access the WATCH ABC, WATCH ABC Family, WATCH Disney Channel, WATCH DisneyXD and WatchESPN apps through your computer, smartphone, tablet and other connected devices like game consoles and set top boxes. The deal will also see Dish launch a number of Disney and ESPN networks while pending litigation between the two companies comes to an end:
The agreement will result in dismissal of all pending litigation between the two companies, including disputes over PrimeTime Anytime and AutoHop. As part of the accord, DISH will disable AutoHop functionality for ABC content within the C3 ratings window. The deal also provides a structure for other advertising models as the market evolves, including dynamic ad insertion, advertising on mobile devices and extended advertising measurement periods.
DISH will make available Disney Junior, Fusion, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater, as well as Longhorn Network and the upcoming SEC ESPN Network upon its launch. In addition, DISH, ESPN and ESPN Deportes customers will have access to the live and video-on-demand channel ESPN3… As part of the agreement, DISH will launch ESPNEWS, ESPNU, Disney Channel and ABC Family in high definition. ESPN Classic will be reintroduced as a video-on-demand channel.
For Android device users, the majority of the content is available through dedicated iOS and Apple TV apps including WatchESPN, WatchABC, and WatchDisneyChannel.
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Reuters reports that Disney is about to buy Maker Studios, one of the largest YouTube networks, for $500 million with the possibility for that amount to rise to $950 million:
Maker, founded in 2009, helps produce and distribute videos to more than 380 million subscribers worldwide across more than 55,000 channels. Its videos now collectively garner some 5.5 billion views every month, according to the source.
The company distributes content through partnerships it has with a long list of YouTube content creators such as the popular PewDiePie gaming channel and also provides a platform that gives creators access to royalty reporting, analytics, and other services to help maximize earnings.
Christmas is just two days away and with plenty of unsuspecting kids (and parents) awaiting new smartphones and tablets Disney is taking the opportunity to knock down app prices. For a limited time, numerous Disney apps within the Play Store are on sale for $0.49 and below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D52bdmsMtYI]
In October we reported that Google was in the process of investing approximately $100 million into funding original TV quality content for YouTube. Major media companies like Warner Bros and News Corp were in talks with the company to provide the content, which would appear on “dozens of free channels with professional-grade shows” sometime in 2012. Ahead of those plans, Academdy Award winner Ron Howard is getting set to debut his new film, When You Find Me, on YouTube this Friday at 12:00 p.m. EST.
The film’s storyline is inspired by a selection of photos Howard selected from a contest held by Canon. He took eight photos from the nearly 100,000 to choose from and shot the entire thing using Canon gear. The film will continue being available to stream until Monday, December 19 (trailer above), and will eventually land in film festivals next year. Below you can see the eight winning photos that inspired different aspects of the film such as “Setting”, “Character”, “Relationship, “Goal”, etc. The film will most likely be available here, when it becomes available tomorrow.
We already knew that Google has been making a serious push into beefing up the content offerings on YouTube from Hollywood studios and the film industry as a whole. In May they announced plans to add 3,000 Hollywood movies to YouTube as rentals, and in September the WSJ reported Google was spending $100-$200 million on licensing more premium content. Just last month YouTube begun rolling out move rentals from Pixar, Disney, and DreamWorks.
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