Netflix App for iPhone and iPod Touch Now Available

Netflix released the official Netflix app for the iPhone and iPod Touch and it's available for free from the App store. Unlike the iPad app which is more like a version the Netflix website, the Netflix iPhone app is a true iPhone application. The simple user interface includes Home (with recommendations), Genres, Search, and your Instant Queue.

 

Streaming over WIFI was fast, and once the movie was loaded I could quickly fast-forward through the movie. The quality was excellent, especially on the iPhone 4 with the "retina" display.

 

You can watch movies using 3G, but it's slower to load and on my initial testing the movie started and stopped, even with an AT&T Microcell. If you're watching movies on the iPhone with a limited data plan, be sure to monitor your 3G movie watching so you don't incur any overage charges.

Reader Ben reports that the Netflix app will work with the 1st generation iPod Touch, but that you'll need an external volume control (like the one on some headphones) to control the volume.

If you're trying to log out of the application you'll have to scroll down to the bottom of your home page to find the "Sign Out" button.

What are your first impressions of the Netflix app for the iPhone?

Thanks to Matt, Andyg8180, Victoria, Chad, and everyone else for sending this in.

Comments

[BooBee]

This is GREAT news!

[tiki god]

streaming "Muppets From Space" via wi-fi on my 3g, and it's looking awesome.

[Josh]

Limited functionality for search - only seems to search for movie titles, linking a person to other movies, etc.

Movies look and perform great on iPhone w/ wifi.

[things]

bandwidth cap and technology = square peg & round hole

[cj]

Quick test, and WOOHOO! Loads a lot faster than I'd expected and looks just fine to me. Now I'll need to try it out on my adapter and see if it can output the video to a TV...

[Ryan Phillips]

Finally! It works quite well over 3G also. Thank you HackingNetflix for the heads up.

[Scrivner]

First impression (using iPhone 3G), the streaming over 3G looks good. Better than I thought it would be. The interface is slow/laggy and crashed on me a few times. Not too surprising with a first release - next release should be more stable.

[Sam]

the queue management could be a lot better. I was hoping to be able to see the movie cover, as well as the director and genera. That way I can more easily organize it on the go

[Amanda]

I'm surprised you can't see your disc queue, only your instant queue

[FearNo1]

Finally, its about time. Works fine on my 1G Touch via wifi. Interface is rather slow tho. Now where is the 5.1 surround sound netflix?

[Jeremy]

Ja that's cool and all, but when is the app for Android coming out? Android phones are outselling iphones by a considerable margin and there are already more android phones being used than iphones being used!

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if it requires iOS4?

[FearNo1]

@Anonymous
It does not. I have the app on my 1st gen Touch.

@Jeremy
Be patient and stop whining. Besides you are ignoring the huge iPod Touch market...

[Gran]

@Jeremy, where are you getting your information? That's simply not true.

If you want to watch netflix on your phone... get an iPhone.

[Gran]

@Amanda, this app is for Instant Watching, hence Instant Watch queue. There are tons of apps for managing disc queue.

[FearNo1]

@Gran
Wrong. Netflix will release an android app. Android is too big to ignore.

[Gran]

@FearNo1, there may indeed eventually be an Android app but it will be more difficult as it would need to work in the Linux environment, which we know isn't yet possible due to DRM. So... if you want to watch Netflix on your phone, get an iPhone. If you don't want an iPhone, then sorry, your Netflix account can't help you. You might want to try Blockbuster.

[Chad]

Or Slingbox and ROKU

[Pusta]

@Gran Android is outselling iPhone for the first half of 2010.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/196035/android_outsells_the_iphone_no_big_surprise.html

[Richard McCarty]

Not working well enough to use via 3G on my iPhone 4. Stop and stutter, stutter and stop, with audio way out of sync during the stutter-breaks.

Can't find any tips or tricks or support options to get help. Pausing the stream doesn't seem to pre-load it, as the stutters immediately resume.

Pretty disappointing long-awaited launch day here.

[Gran]

@Pusta,

Jeremy stated "there are already more android phones being used than iphones being used!"

Which is simply not true.

[Dante]

I am happy it's here, but will be happier if they issue an update to allow for some more buffering when using it over 3G. I'd be glad to wait an extra 60 seconds or what-have-you for stutter-free playback.

[Netflixcrazy]

Watching Family Guy season one as my desk at work! No problems running on 3G streaming smoothly no breaks. Now no work is getting done.

[Amanda]

@Gran Actually my app says Netflix not InstantWatch. One would think they would have an app with all the functionality of the website together.

[Jose Cuervo]

@ Richard, your getting poor 3g connection. ATT problem not Netflix. Get off the Android wagon people, its just a phase. Iphone will be around for along time and all programs will have the iphone in mind in the future because of all the loyal iphone users. People using the Android jump around from phone to phone thinking its always better than the iphone. Not loyal...not first on the list for awesome apps. Live with it.

[Gran]

@Amanda, there are lots of Netflix queue apps that work with both instant and DVD queues. This is a Netflix movie watching app, not a queue manager.

[Alexia]

Having this app on my iphone could become extremely addicting. Now I just hope I don't incur the overage charges you mentioned.

[DMP]

Volume too low on iPod touch 1gen many stream no audio

[Berkchops]

cant get it to work on my 2nd gen iPod touch. I get the splash screen and then it goes to a white screen and stays there. The logon never comes up. Its not jailbroken and just updated the OS. Ugh.

[Scrivner]

Netflix is working on an Android app for streaming. They have just hired software developers for the job so it might be awhile - 6 months to a year I would guess - but it will happen.

[nemov]

I'd expect the Android app in the next three months. It's funny reading some of the snarky iPhone users. Android is a great platform (as is iPhone). Both have pros and cons.

However, iPhone isn't head and shoulders above the rest of the market anymore. Android has a lot of unique features. The iPhone still has the best interface, but it's not flexible.

[Scrivner]

I currently have an iPhone and it is hands down the best gadget I have ever owned. Having said that, there are those typical Apple annoyances (inflexibility as previously mentioned for example) that may have me moving to Android when my AT&T contract runs out in the next few months. I know a few people who have the HTC Hero and Incredible and they seem to be as good, if not better than the iPhone.

[Mecca]

It works on my 2nd Gen. iPod Touch. The only issue I've had was after watching some episodes of "Angry Beavers" over WiFi. About half way through each episode, the video would freeze. All I had to do was rewind a few seconds and then it would continue to play fine.

I am annoyed that you can only watch videos while holding the device horizontally. I'd like to have a choice on which way I hold it.

[Perkins Cobb]

Why would anyone want to debase a movie by "watching" it on a screen that size? I think I'm going to puke.

[Isaac Church]

Great app! Just disappointed that it doesn't include the ability to manage my DVD queue as well.

[Thomas]

I live in Europe and I have been using the Netflix app on the iPhone since it came out. It is not hard to get it working and I have written a guide on the steps needed here: http://thomasfals.com/how-to-use-netflix-on-the-iphone-from-outside-the-us/

[Supra Shoes]

Good job.No matter where we are, we must study all the way. As the proverb says that: You are never too old to learn. Thank you for your blog.

[Moclvland]

NO volume control on the ipod Touch!

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