Thursday, August 02, 2012

Amazon Instant Video - now on the iPad


Amazon Instant Video just released an iPad app.  Mirroring the service Amazon provides through its website, the app allows users to purchase or stream videos and they can choose from a library of 120,000 pieces of content, mostly movies and TV episodes.    

It is a clear move to compete with Hulu and Netflix Instant Video but I find it even more interesting because the service also competes with iTunes’ video store which offers TV episodes for purchase, and Movies for rent and purchase.  As more and more digital video viewing apps are approved for the iPhone and iPad, it emphasizes that Apple places much more value on the sales of their hardware as opposed to content via iTunes.  Otherwise, it would be much more conservative with the types of apps it allows to be distributed through its app store.

Having worked with Amazon Instant Video directly, I was happy to hear this news and I think the app release is a great move for their growth stategy as it allows them access to a completely new market of consumers who may not have considered using their service before out of loyalty to iTunes or Netflix.  There are an incredible number of choices for video viewing, and each service has its advantages, so it’ll be interesting to see who wins out in the long-term.

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