Netflix recently updated its mobile app to run on all Android 2.2 and 2.3 devices, and this morning I idly decided to try it out on my HTC Thunderbolt while procrastinating from other work. I was doubtful I’d remember our Netflix login, or that the app would work well over 4G or coffee-house Wi-Fi, but lo and behold, after about 90 seconds I had a working Netflix player in my hand. And it works like magic.
First off, the Netflix app immediately pulled up recently-watched items, and there at the top was Phineas and Ferb. In one click I was suddenly watching the episode my daughter started this morning, beginning right at the point where I shut off the TV an hour ago so we could head off to school. (Yes, I am that parent.) The app knew what we’d been watching and was able to resume play as if I’d never switched to another device in another location. That may seem mundane to some, but having watched the cable industry aim at fixed-mobile convergence for years, I find it pretty breathtaking. Netflix offers a true continuous experience across devices and networks, no configuration gymnastics required. Most other TV doesn’t work like that yet.
For the PQ hounds out there, the Netflix quality on a mobile device probably doesn’t cut it, but in a pinch, or when you find yourself in the doctor’s office waiting room, it’s a pretty good deal. As iOS users – and owners of a handful of Android phones that were supported early – already know, the app lets you search content, browse by genre, and access your instant queue. You can watch instantly, read a description, or find similar titles listed as recommendations. It’s simple, and compelling. And another reason to stick to my Netflix subscription even with continued content challenges on the horizon.
Yep, the Netflix apps for iOS and Android are both pretty awesome. I almost never actually use them, since I’d typically rather watch the same show on a bigger screen in the house — but from time to time it’s nice to be able to whip a phone out of your pocket and watch a video from your queue on a bus or train.
It really does feel like magic. Kind of like how I still feel about getting on an airplane in one location, then opening the door in a totally new place a few hours later. Doesn’t matter how often I travel, still feels incredible. TV in my hand? Yeah, it’s like that.
“Yep, the Netflix apps for iOS and Android are both pretty awesome. I almost never actually use them, since I’d typically rather watch the same show on a bigger screen in the house — but from time to time it’s nice to be able to whip a phone out of your pocket and watch a video from your queue on a bus or train.”
I wish I could find the stat I read a few months back, but Netflix and/or Hulu said that something like 95%+ of their viewing was coming from the lean-back.
But folks do love talking about ‘teh mobile’ cuz it’s so shiny.
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“In one click I was suddenly watching the episode my daughter started this morning, beginning right at the point where I shut off the TV an hour ago so we could head off to school”
It’s almost as if you are describing the Netflix experience on pretty much any platform. Wow.
(I kid, but getting their client working well and actually shipping it out onto whatever device a customer may possibly posses certainly is part of Netflix’ secret sauce. Now, if they’d get over themselves and just create premium tiers to get at more content, they could essentially create a virtual cable TV operator.)
A day late and a dollar short, Netflix. The new rates do not match the value that Netflix streaming offers us, so we cut back to 1-disc, only.
Oh Chucky, you cynic. Sometimes it’s worth writing about the sheer joy of something that actually works. :)
And yes, I know I saw a similar statistic about mobile viewing. I mean really, who wants to watch much TV on a 4″ screen? But still cool that it does what it’s supposed to. And that “follow me” experience is where we need to be with a lot of other applications.
“Oh Chucky, you cynic. Sometimes it’s worth writing about the sheer joy of something that actually works.”
Hell, the fact that KCRW streams their radio station to you for free no matter where you are is sheer joy that I like writing about.
Listening to KCRW without having to live in LA is true magic. It’s Anne Litt’s world, and we just live in it.
Hey I watch a surprising amount of video on my 3.5″ iPhone screen. Not using Netflix myself, but rather HBO Go or Air Video or Slingbox or … When you travel a lot, its just so convenient. And for a lot of plot driven TV (working my way through the third season of Breaking Bad now) its entirely adequate. Sure I wouldn’t watch Top Gear on the thing, but its an important part of how I relate to TV now, despite that honking big thing in my living room.
Yeah, prior to surgery I was regularly watching Netflix and Hulu at the gym on my iPhone. Well, mostly Hulu since it performed better. On the very rare occasions I fire up video on the small screen at work, it’s news or sports though. At home, it’s mostly leanback.
Dave- top two genres viewed on mobile are news and sports: http://blog.limelight.com/2011/09/sports-wins-in-mobile-media/
“And for a lot of plot driven TV (working my way through the third season of Breaking Bad now) its entirely adequate.”
Breaking Bad is the oddest modern TV show in terms of form that I’ve ever been into. I generally like shows where plot is secondary to other elements. But Breaking Bad is so purely and relentlessly plot driven that it’s the one show I really could imagine watching on a phone.
I wish I could join in the fun. I have a Samsung Intercept on Virgin Mobile. Even though the Android app is available for my phone it does not seem to play. It loads the red Netflix screen then a white screen until I give up or it resets my phone.
I love it on the iPod Touch though (when the primary TV is in use and I don’t feel like sitting in a chair to watch on the iMac).
After using an iPhone (AT&T) the last few years, I recently switched to an HTC HD7 (T Mobile) running Windows 7 and while I have only watched a minimal amount of content on the phone – mobile viewing isn’t my thing – Netflix on this phone (great screen size) is very well done. In fact, I am more than surprised at how much I like the phone and the OS; it is very intuitive and polished IMO.
Couldn’t agree more Chucky regarding Breaking Bad. Great show. I don’t need a ton of shows to keep me happy and it is definitely part of the lineup which includes House, Dexter Men of a Certain Age (hated to see it canceled) and Fringe .
Just for the heck of it I tested Netflix on my Fascinate using 3G today. It works but the screen is just too small.
Now if they could just create multiple queues or a content restriction, so my son doesn’t have to have my viewing of the latest European NC-17 rated horror movie listed at the top of the history when he goes online to watch Sponge Bob, that’d REALLY be something…
@Charles I have the same phone through VM. Mine plays but the audio/video is way out of sync and is so choppy it’s unwatchable. This is over WiFi. Watching Netflix from my Tivo Premiere through my Monsoon Vulkano Platinum’s Android App on my phone works fine though.