Usually days in the office come and go very quickly and today was no exception. While checking my emails for the last time before I sign off for the day though on the 10th Jan, I came across an email from Netflix which I admittedly was expecting just after mid-March. This email had the following title: “Netflix is now available in the UK! Start your FREE trial today”.
Excited? Yes! Why? Not sure to be honest. Netflix has had a lot of good and bad criticism in the time that it has been commercially available. In addition I’m afraid it might be too early and the product might be rushed into the market. I think I am losing my mind. The product I was so eager to purchase is right on my doorstep and I am thinking of all the things I shouldn’t!!!!
Before Netflix:
Let’s take things from the beginning: Traditionally every house has at least one cable/satellite/aerial broadcaster. These provide their customers with a series of channels that come in bundles and an extra payment is required for anything to be added in a bundle or sometimes they are not even flexible enough to allow customers to add more channels. In addition, these cost a fortune: Sky starts at about £20 for the most limited package available, TV Licensing is around £140 per year, and so goes on.
Space/Price Factor:
With a few calculations, it is evident that a customer might be paying in excess of £50 per month for all the services that they might want which will add a whole load of unwanted material and even lead in great waste of space in the shape of hardware in some cases. For example, one can have a Freeview box to watch digital content which costs £140 per annum and consisted of a box and a remote, a Sky box for movies and live sports which adds one more box and remote control and costs minimum £35 per month and a satellite dish to watch international channels which can cost a minimum of £15-20 per month and adds another box and remote.
The Alternative:
This is exactly where Netflix comes in to this picture: the alternative solution that provides full flexibility. Imagine a service that comes in software version, eliminating the need for more hardware, can adapt to any device a customer owns already (from a Nintendo Wii to a smartphone, tablet or a Smart TV) and provides a huge variety of content without compromises: one fixed price for all-you-can-watch content!
Money Talks:
Now it is time to talk numbers: Netflix costs £5.99 per month and with the first month FREE! That provides access to all of their content on any console or device that is supported and the list is far longer than anyone could imagine! That means if you have a gaming console but no Smart TV, you can use your console to watch your favourite shows on your TV, if you want to watch on the go that movie you left halfway last night you can resume from where you left from your Android phone while commuting to work or even on your lunch break on your tablet with WiFi or 3G.
Ad-Free or Live?
Unlike most other services, Netflix is not a live broadcaster. Programs and movies appear weeks or months after release and it is not to be considered as a substitute to traditional TV broadcasting. That said, if a customer wants to watch the latest news the option is evidently not Netflix, but if he/she is after catching up on some series or entertaining the family with a few movies or trying to keep the children busy with some cartoon movies, Netflix is a great alternative that can adjust to the customer needs without having to predefine packages. In addition, unlike traditional broadcasting television, Netflix is an advertisement-free service. All a customer pays is the monthly subscription…that is all.
Worth it then?
This service was announced just a couple of days ago for the UK market so it is early days and people have mixed feelings according to the reviews on the Android Market, but that is the case with any application especially with the variety of devices in the Android world. Some express their feelings for lack of variety, some for low-end devices not being able to playback properly and many others hail this as a great service that leaves them happy customers.
Check it out yourself today: take advantage of the one-month free trial now before the offer expires and see if this is for you or not!
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.netflix.mediaclient
