Netflix Finally, Finally Arrives on Android
You can now stream Netflix directly to your Android device... if it's one of the only five Android phones that supports the service, that is.
Thursday Netflix finally launched its video-streaming service on the Android platform after what seemed like decades of waiting. Like the iOS client, the app is free to download and install, but users will need a membership in order to stream their favorite episodes of Glee straight to their Android-based device.
But as previously reported, the service will be limited to a specific number of phones using the Snapdragon processor due to DRM reasons. Sadly enough, that means only five Android phones actually support the service: the HTC Incredible (with Android 2.2), the HTC Nexus One (2.2, 2.3), the HTC Evo 4G (2.2), the HTC G2 (2.2) and the Samsung Nexus S (2.3).
"The Market download will initially be available only on select phones that currently have the requisite playback support," explains Roma De from the Netflix product team. "We expect to quickly add to the number of phones that can download from Android Market as we work with ecosystem partners to expand playback support."
Roma De goes on to explain why the service is limited to these five specific phones, blaming a lack of standardization.
"Because the platform has evolved so rapidly, there are some significant challenges associated with developing a streaming video application for this ecosystem," Roma De said. "One of these challenges is the lack of standard streaming playback features that the Netflix application can use to gain broad penetration across all available Android phones. In the absence of standardization, we have to test each individual handset and launch only on those that can support playback. We are aggressively qualifying phones and look forward to expanding the list of phones on which the Netflix app will be supported. We anticipate that many of these technical challenges will be resolved in the coming months and that we will be able to provide a Netflix application that will work on a large majority of Android phones."
For those who just can't wait another year or so for Netflix to iron out the details, PlayOn offers software that will beam Netflix content straight to an Android device, no questions asked. The setup requires a PC connected to a broadband connection, installed server software that resides quietly next to the clock in the taskbar, and the client app that can be downloaded for free.
The catch is that PlayOn requires Android 2.2 "Froyo" and Adobe Flash installed on the device, as playback is based on Flash technology (even though Flash is inexcusably too large and eats up too much internal memory). Nevertheless, this is a good alternative to bringing Netflix to an Android device, especially if it seems that the service will never arrive for older hardware. PlayOn works really well and even pipes content over 3G connections.
Still, for those with compatible Android devices, the Netflix client can be downloaded from here.
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Yeah works fine on my OG droid..... 5 devices my ***
Netflix streaming works great.......until you hit your ISP's cap like my friend did last month and get a nasty letter in the mail.
Yep, what's the point of paying $99 a month or more if you can't actually use your phone without monitoring every byte of data sent and received. What is this, 1994 with pay-by-the-hour dialup?
Yep, what's the point of paying $99 a month or more if you can't actually use your phone without monitoring every byte of data sent and received. What is this, 1994 with pay-by-the-hour dialup?
You could always use it on WiFi
You know, I'm pretty much indifferent on "X is launching on Android" anymore, considering my device is never one of the chosen few to be able to actually use the new feature. It took them months just to launch this on those few phones, the only hope for people shut out is waiting for XDA to hack and fix it like always. Google's done nothing to prevent "fragmentation" of their market.
GALAXY S PHONES?!?!?!?!
Google's done nothing to prevent "fragmentation" of their market.
sorry didnt post the rest of my comment... So they put the screws to Nvidia, Qualcomm or nothing.. I totally agree with KingGraves
Considering the Galaxy S and Nexus S are virtually identical phones from a hardware standpoint, that "fragmentation" comment really doesn't make any sense to me.
The hardware is the same, the OS is the same, UI differences between manufacturers affect DRM how? Is it not the Netflix app which controls the content...?
It may have made sense if they required android 2.3 for netflix, but the fact that android 2.2 phones are also on this list makes me think this is just a marketing gimmick.
Google has done nothing but encourage fragmentation of the market. It's the only way to propel the market. The main advantage that Google has right now over Apple is they are not bound by hardware manufacturing. Therefore they can keep pushing the envelope of hardware quicker than Apple can. Ultimately this leads to quicker orphaned hardware but at gaining the advantage in the smartphone arena. Google has hardware manufacturer lining up to get on board with the next generation Android. Google wins through an open system Apple loses again because of their closed system approach. Eventually the hardware will top out and have a similar release curve to the desktop. I hate to say it but I think when Google chooses an Intel platform, thats when it will be game over for Apple. The mark of the beast isn't 666 it's x86.
Dammit, i was hoping to get Netflix on my Nook Color....
Honestly I don't see what people are complaining about. It's a step in the right direction.
So tell me what value PlayOn offers if you have to have your computer connected to your mobile device in order to stream Netflix video to it, I mean why not just watch it on your computer or better yet, stream it to a television. Fail.
Is it possible to make an Android virtual machine? Perhaps there is a way to make a virtual machine through Virtual PC or VMWare player, load Android, and use it to copy content from Netflix during playback to a PC hard drive.
I think that this is good news that I can use Netflix on my Evo, but I rather watch netflix on my tablet than a small screen.
WHEN ARE THEY RELEASING IT ON HONEYCOMB?
so we can shut up all the Steve Handjobs fans of the iPad which the i stands for inferior Pad.
Yoda to google, This is why you fail
Can we PLEASE make this guy stop using the word "ecosystem?" I'm a biologist, and to borrow an appropriate quote - "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
"The catch is that PlayOn requires Android 2.2 "Froyo" and Adobe Flash installed on the device, as playback is based on Flash technology (even though Flash is inexcusably too large and eats up too much internal memory). "
Is the author nuts? What kind of a catch is this? The phones listed were designed (and I believe all were released) with Froyo in mind and Flash already integrated. I've owned at least two of those Android devices, and was able to play Flash sites from day 1- so what's the catch? It's like saying "the catch to using iTunes with an MP3 player is that you have to have an iPod or iPhone".
Flash might be big, but HTML5 is inexcuseably fragmented across browser implementations. This is why Windows and OS X rely on Silverlight for Netflix and not HTML5- Netflix is ensuring quality control by using non-fragmented protocols. They released it on iPhone in HTML5 because they assume the implementation wouldn't get fragmented between Apple devices, while Flash on Android makes sense because it will likely be portable to Win7 and maybe even Blackberry devices when those devices support Flash- there's a reason why Netflix isn't releasing it on other platforms in HTML5- it's because Apple limited themselves to HTML5 as a delivery medium while other devices didn't.
Hopefully this means Linux support will soon follow!
Netflix's library of streaming titles blows dogs for quarters anyway... Fuck their DRM if it won't play nice with Linux/Tegra2. End of story. PEACE!
Google's done nothing to prevent "fragmentation" of their market.
Supposedly they are in the process of creating such an API for such. It remains to be seen as I have heard this for a long time now.