Hulu Lands on Android, But Highly Limited

Hulu Plus has landed on Android, but only on six smartphones for now.

Seemingly on the heels of Netflix's arrival on Android, Hulu has launched its movie and TV streaming service on Google's mobile platform too. And like Netflix, the Hulu Plus service is limited to just a handful of compatible devices thanks to Android's fragmented copy protection.

"We’ve always said our mission is to provide the world’s premium content to people when, how and where they want it," said director of product management Rob Wong. "And we know that a lot of people want that content on their Android smartphones. We’ve been working hard to make that a reality, and today, we have begun our early rollout of the Hulu Plus application on Android smartphones."

The first phase of Hulu's Android rollout includes the Nexus One, Nexus S, HTC Inspire 4G, Motorola Droid 2, Motorola Droid X, and the Motorola Atrix. The company expects to add additional Android smartphones and will make additional device announcements throughout the year. So far there's no word on Hulu Plus arriving on Android-based tablets.

Hulu Plus previously launched on Apple's iOS last year, and currently requires a $7.99 monthly fee whether the content is viewed on the mobile device or on a PC-- there's a free version, but it can't be accessed on smartphones and tablets. Additionally, Hulu Plus can also be accessed on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, TiVo and a few other products using the same subscription.

But as seen with the Netflix app, Android's fragmented copy protection means that initially only a certain number of phones will be compatible. As it stands now, Android copy protection is tailored to specific processor families and sometimes even specific smartphone models – this supposedly changes with the arrival of "Ice Cream Sandwich." In the case of Netflix, the company chose to develop for Snapdragon processors. But Hulu's batch of compatible Android devices isn't locked to a specific processor family, but instead covers processors from the Tegra 2, the 1 GHz TI OMAP to the 1 GHz Snapdragon.

Where Netflix's strength is in bringing new movies to subscribers, Hulu's strength is in providing current television shows while the seasons are still running. Both offer a back catalog of television programming, but Hulu – which is owned by NBCUniversal, Disney, News Corp and other investors – offers a larger, richer television library.