Blockbuster On Demand for iOS arrives; Instagram adds friend tagging
The App Store saw two long-awaited moves on Thursday when beleaguered movie rental company Blockbuster finally released an iOS app for streaming on demand videos, and photo sharing app Instagram beefed up its own offering with support for photo tagging
Dish Network released Blockbuster On Demand for iOS, an Apple device-ready version of the app that has been available on Android, PC, Mac, TVs and set-top boxes since January.
After filing for bankruptcy in 2010 and being acquired by Dish in 2011, Blockbuster launched a streaming on demand service in 2012, but until today had not offered an app for Apple's iOS device lineup.
Working in much the same way as the company's services on other platforms, Blockbuster On Demand streams "thousands" of movies in HD and full surround sound to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Users can watch selections instantly, or save them to a Watchlist for later viewing. There is also an option to filter movies based on Rotten Tomatoes ratings
Unlike competitors like Netflix, which require monthly subscriptions, Blockbuster's service is based on a per-view model pricing model with no late fees.
Blockbuster On Demand is free to download, with movie rental prices pegged at $2.99 and $4.99.Instagram
Massively popular photo sharing app Instagram received an update adding photo tagging, and the requisite privacy options that come with it, to bring the iOS app up to version 3.5.
Called "Photos of You," the new features allows users to tag people with their Instagram handles in a snapped photo. Previously, a mention written as part of the image's caption was the main way "tagging" was done in-app.
Users can see the photos in which they are tagged by navigating to the Photos of You drop down in the app's profile tab. According to Instagram, tagged images will start appearing in profiles by default on May 16, though an option to hide the photos is available. Users can also delete a photo tagged photo from their profile by manually untagging themselves or reporting the image as inappropriate.
Along with the introduction of photo tagging, Instagram now allows access to privacy settings through the Profile screen under Edit Your Profile.
Finally, a new "Report a Problem" features has been added for user feedback and bug reporting.
Instagram comes in at 12.7MB and can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
Blockbuster On Demand
Dish Network released Blockbuster On Demand for iOS, an Apple device-ready version of the app that has been available on Android, PC, Mac, TVs and set-top boxes since January.
After filing for bankruptcy in 2010 and being acquired by Dish in 2011, Blockbuster launched a streaming on demand service in 2012, but until today had not offered an app for Apple's iOS device lineup.
Working in much the same way as the company's services on other platforms, Blockbuster On Demand streams "thousands" of movies in HD and full surround sound to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Users can watch selections instantly, or save them to a Watchlist for later viewing. There is also an option to filter movies based on Rotten Tomatoes ratings
Unlike competitors like Netflix, which require monthly subscriptions, Blockbuster's service is based on a per-view model pricing model with no late fees.
Blockbuster On Demand is free to download, with movie rental prices pegged at $2.99 and $4.99.
Massively popular photo sharing app Instagram received an update adding photo tagging, and the requisite privacy options that come with it, to bring the iOS app up to version 3.5.
Called "Photos of You," the new features allows users to tag people with their Instagram handles in a snapped photo. Previously, a mention written as part of the image's caption was the main way "tagging" was done in-app.
Users can see the photos in which they are tagged by navigating to the Photos of You drop down in the app's profile tab. According to Instagram, tagged images will start appearing in profiles by default on May 16, though an option to hide the photos is available. Users can also delete a photo tagged photo from their profile by manually untagging themselves or reporting the image as inappropriate.
Along with the introduction of photo tagging, Instagram now allows access to privacy settings through the Profile screen under Edit Your Profile.
Finally, a new "Report a Problem" features has been added for user feedback and bug reporting.
Instagram comes in at 12.7MB and can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
Comments
Seeing as DISH Network owns Blockbuster and may soon own US Sprint/Clearwire then I won't be surprised if they are working hard with Apple to partner against NetFlix.
Originally Posted by digitalclips
The monthly cost of Netflix for the content available is astounding...
Astounding good or bad? Netflix generally has older stuff, right? While Hulu gets new things, but it has ads?
Quote:
Originally Posted by elmoofo
Blockwhat?!
Block-busted.
As in broken, or beyond repair.
You can't be that bothered to succeed if you ignore iOS users for 5 months.
I'm pretty sure Apple users are more likely to rent and stream movies what with our access to iTunes (that works as opposed to the PC version which is as good as the platform it is on) and Apple TV.
I see this rental as no difference from iTunes rentals. Prices are generally the same.
I think it is a great value. As far as TV shows, Netflix usually gets them season at a time, around the time the season is available on DVD. They also have shows that you will never see on Hulu. And some shows (some Disney Channel ones) Netflix actually gets new episodes shortly after they first air.
Couldn't agree more. DOA.
Oh, I mean good. My wife and I have enjoyed watching TV series we never saw and believe me not being huge TV watchers in the first place there are tons of them. We love being able to watch one each evening and wade through several years of episodes in a few months. We didn't know who Sydney Bristow was till we got Netflix.
Yep, I'd stick with iTunes for movies now I think about it unless there was a big price difference.
competition is good. When I want to rent something, first I look at Netflix and amazon prime to see if I can stream it at no cost, then I look at vudo, Sony entertainment network, and itunes to see if one is cheaper than the other. If it supports airplay (or an appleTV version is released), I can add that to the list.
The crazy thing is if I want to buy something, often times the bluray/DVD/ultraviolet combo pack is cheaper than buying a digital copy on iTunes or Vudo. Perhaps a bit more competition for buying digital copies will also help the pricing there.
I wish that the 'Digital Copy' they included matched the disc format you bought. Buy the DVD? SD digital copy. Buy the BD? HD digital copy. If this was the case, I would consider buying discs again. As it is now, I refuse to download an SD version of a movie in iTunes, and refuse to buy physical discs because they only give you SD dc.
And the combo packs? Is it gaming the sales counts? Does it count as a BD unit moved, and SD and a DC? So three for one?
Content providers need to drop the price of iTunes copies. Even 25%
ESPECIALLY TV Seasons