I've been wanting a Native Netflix App since day one! Don't get me wrong, I know that there are lot's of good Netflix Queue managers out there for iPhone and iPod touch, however the one thing that they all suffer from is the ability to get in and manage your account. It's not their fault. They can only give you access to what Netflix allows them to give you access to. That being said I knew that a "Neflix" branded app would give me what I wanted. I was very pleasantly surprised to see the Netflix App introduced on the day the iPad shipped!
More than just a queue manager
Although I got what I wanted from a queue management and account access stance, the added bonus and probably the biggest reason to use the App is that you get the ability to stream Netflix movies directly to your iPad. That's right you have access to your "Instant Watch" queue and you can watch any movie you want any time you want directly on the iPad. Of course an internet connection is required since the movies stream and don't download. Once I asked a movie to start playing it started in about 20 seconds. The video quality was better than I expected. Maybe slightly less than DVD due to the compression, but certainly very watchable and to date no stuttering or stopping. YMMV based on your internet connection.
The Movies – Now keep in mind that you can't watch just any movie. It has to be one of the over 12,000 that they have available for streaming. Their hands are tied by the movie studios on what's allowed to be streamed and what's not.
Get it here from the App Store for FREE.
It's just a website
Although you have access to your queue and account info in the App, it appears to be nothing more than just bringing up the standard Netflix.com website in the App. That's fine for the iPad, but rumor has it that they are also working on an iPhone version and in that case I'd want something a little more custom to the iPhone's display and touch screen. Oddly enough I have minor issues with the Neflix site in the App that I don't have if I just go to Netflix.com. For example, in the App for the life of me I can't click to rate a movie. However, I can bring up Netflix.com on my iPhone and tap the rating just fine.
The Bottom Line
It works! I just wanted to test a movie out while writing this review and I ended up watching "The Proposal" in its entirety without any issues. If you have a Netflix account and an iPad there is NO REASON in the world not to get this App. It gives you one more reason to justify your monthly Netflix bill. I can't wait to test this over 3G when the WiFi+3G model ships later this month.
Netflix for iPad
Netflix for iPad allows you to view your Netflix queue and stream Netflix movies to your iPad in real-time.
- James Odell
- Get on App Store
- Free
All info was collected on 13th April, 2010 when the app was reviewed.
About Terry White
Terry is the co-author of The Best Selling "The iPhone Book" 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions. He has been active in the industry for over 25 years and is the founder and president of MacGroup-Detroit, Inc., Michigan's largest Macintosh Users Group, host of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and a technology writer - Terry White Tech Blog.
Terry,
Any word on whether Netflix will allow “queing” of a movie to the iPad in the event you lose connectivity? I have situations where I’d love to watch a movie; but, I am going to lose my internet connection. I’d love to be able to que, even one movie at a time, to the device and take it with me.
No official word Jacob, but it would be nice to “cache” a movie to watch offline especially for travelers!
Hi, I was so excited to geet my ipad and today while waiting to get new roters and brake pads I thought I would stream a Ken Follet movie and it was a mess. It kept starting and stopping and wouldn’t stream. Any thoughts?
Frustrated in Hawley, Pa.