Brands
Reliance in mobile content deal with Disney; to offer 3D animation
MUMBAI: Reliance Communications has announced its tie-up with Disney to offer on Reliance Mobile World what would be India’s first 3D animation on mobile. The deal promises a host of other Disney mobile content offerings as well.
Reliance customers will be able to access 16 Disney animated video shorts, including ten in 3D, exclusively made for mobile devices and featuring Disney characters They also can download other mobile content with favourite Disney characters in the form of wallpapers, ring-tones, games or comic strips from Disney Zone, created on Reliance Mobile World, states an official release.
This is not the first deal that Disney has done with a telecom player in India. It is worth recalling that Disney had tied up with AirTel in April to develop mobisodes, games, ringtones, wallpapers and animation in the ‘Disney Mobile Theatre’ featuring popular cartoons. Airtel was then the third telecom operator Disney had tied up with, the other two being in Asia.
Meanwhile, with soccer fever gripping the world, wallpapers and animations showing Disney characters in football gear will be an added attraction. Downloads will be priced at: Rs 5 for wallpapers, Rs 10 for video shorts downloads, Rs 5 for animations and Rs 10 for ring-tones on Disney Zone. Games will be charged at Rs 5 per session, adds the release.
Walt Disney Internet Group EVP & MD Mark Handler says, “The strength of the Disney brand, combined with our rich content library, allows us to create a new and fun mobile experience for families in India. We are pleased to collaborate with Reliance to bring to consumers Disney mobile content, anytime, anywhere.”
Reliance Communications Applications Solutions and Content Group president Mahesh Prasad adds, “Reliance Mobile has unparalleled reach with over 10 million data-enabled handsets and a countrywide high speed data network covering small and big towns alike. With Kidz World in Reliance Mobile World, Reliance pioneered edutainment on mobile in India. Disney Zone will raise the bar many notches to give a unique experience”.“Earlier this year, a game based on Power Rangers, a hit TV show on Toon Disney, was launched on Reliance network, which became one of the highest downloaded games nearing 700,000”. With the launch of a new season of Power Rangers SPD, a completely new game around the show is set to debut on Reliance this month,” added Mr. Prasad.
The Walt Disney India MD Rajat Jain says, “Our success in these emerging platforms stems from the strengths of Disney’s major brands and franchises, which have been leveraged and brought in through innovative and strategically sound ways – positioning the company as the leading provider of entertainment and information for the wireless and broadband markets. We are happy to bring our best-in-class content to Reliance Mobile.”
After Star India, it is Walt Disney Television International (India) that is exploring the mobile-enabled episode (mobisode) phenomenon.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
