The screen size of an iPod Touch or iPhone might not measure up to that of iPad, but at least those without an iPad don’t have to have Netflix envy any longer. The streaming movie and DVD rental service has released a version of its popular app that works on iPod Touch and iPhone, too.
I was truly impressed with how great streaming programs looked on my iPhone 4. The quality was crisp over both 3G and Wi-Fi (seriously, I saw no difference) and I didn’t experience any lags or breaks once everything loaded. Netflix doesn’t offer fast-app switching, so exiting to turn on Wi-Fi or check email meant sitting through the long-loading splash screen, but that was my only real complaint when it came to speed.
If you’re streaming to another device, say through your TiVo, Wii or PS3 to your television and have to leave, the Netflix app will be able to pick up where you left off. This took a few seconds to go into effect—the first time I tried it the program started at the beginning; but on the second attempt, the app picked up 13 minutes in, right where I hit pause.
As it stands, the Netflix app only allows users to add and delete items from the instant queue; no reordering here. It would be nice to be able to browse all movies and manage your rental queue on the go, too. But for mobile movie-watching, the Netflix app will help you get the most out of your $8.99-plus monthly membership.
