Netflix for iPhone Review

Is Netflix for iPhone the next level of mobile entertainment?  We put Netflix official app through the tests to see just how well the video delivery service can travel.

Netflix, the California-based movie rental giant, has today placed what may prove the final "nail in the coffin" of waning video rental companies Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, and your local independent video store.  With the arrival of Netflix on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch one may even see the beginning of a downward spiral of more competitive services such as Redbox or (gasp!) the brand new Hulu Plus.

Why?

For $8.99 each month the typical Netflix viewer can now watch an unlimited amount of digital ("Instant", as Netflix likes to call it) content right on his or her apple phone, pad, or pod.  Yes, AT&T customers, your Netflix Instant Queue is now as mobile as you are.  Want to catch an episode of South Park as you ride the bus or train to work? You can.  Want to lean the passenger seat back during the ride to the grocery store and gander at 30 Rock? Go ahead. Add such incredible mobility to the fact that every PC, Mac, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and a smorgasbord of Blu-ray players and TVs also support Netflix and you have a genuine content invasion.   It's fast, convenient, and provides a wealth of content competitors currently do not match for the price.  How much do you think watching six movies, three seasons of Futurama, two seasons of Family Guy, and two seasons of Dexter would cost renting them all from Blockbuster?

For this review I have spent the last six hours watching a vast array of Netflix digital content via my iPhone 3GS under a buffet of watching conditions.  All this time testing Netflix's portable image and audio quality on both Wi-Fi and the AT&T 3GS Network has shown me that the digital age is growing up; Netflix on the go performs swimmingly. 

But I get ahead of myself.

The iPhone Netflix interface is a visually straightforward affair and one of only two qualms I have with the service.   It certainly doesn't look bad, but I wouldn't mind something a little flashier.  Presented as a simplified version of Netflix.com - which isn't exactly the prettiest web destination out there anyway - the iPhone version is little more than a series of lists, some of which only contain titles or categories without any form of box art.   Whether genres, your homepage, suggestions, search results, or your Instant Queue, be prepared to do a lot of finger swiping as you scroll through a serious collection of lists. 

Functionally speaking the interface works marvelously.  Across the bottom of the screen are four icons representing Home, Genres, Search, and Instant Queue, which, via a single touch, bring the user to the titled locations.   Watching movies or shows is easy; simply touch the title of the show or the image, if the image is available.

The image quality of the service is better than expected, as is the audio.  Most surprisingly, the performance of these two aspects remains virtually the same whether on Wi-Fi or 3G, which you can switch between seamlessly.  Obviously Wi-Fi is the faster of the two options but Netflix remains extremely watchable on your iPhone even when relying entirely on 3G.  Be warned; those who joined AT&T after the fall of the unlimited data plan should stick with Wi-Fi as watching movies over 3G will eat up your monthly allotment in no time.