Amazon Prime members are now be able to download movies and TV episodes to iPhones, iPads and Android phones and tablets for offline viewing, at no additional charge.
This is a world first – Amazon Video is the only online subscription streaming video service that enables downloads of titles, meaning Prime members can enjoy movies and TV shows even when they don’t have an internet connection available (Think long drives with the kids in the car!).
The new services is available in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Austria and you’ll need to download Amazon Underground and then the Amazon Video app for Android, or from iTunes for iOS users.
“There’s no doubt that the way people watch entertainment is changing–anytime, anywhere viewing is important and we are excited to provide our Prime members with offline viewing capabilities on iOS and Android platforms starting today,” stated Michael Paull, Vice President of Digital Video at Amazon. “We are proud to be the first and only online subscription streaming service that enables offline viewing–on vacation, in a car, at the beach, on a plane, wherever our Prime members want to watch they can, regardless of internet connection“.
Having downloaded “Inception” as a test, the entire film takes 788 MB of space on my Android, but there’s an easy “Delete” link so that you can free up space on your device when you want to clear out downloaded films. Quality and sound (bearing in mind I’m watching on a 5.7″ mobile phone) is excellent and with no need for an Internet connection the only thing I have to worry about is battery life.
You might wonder why we’re bothering to write about video on Tamebay and the answer is that this isn’t about video. It’s about Amazon enticing customers in to Amazon Prime and Prime means free shipping and free shipping means more sales. At least it means more sales of Prime eligible goods and that’s why all sellers should seriously consider FBA as a priority to take full advantage of Amazon’s selling power.
Of course downloaded video does open up one new need… I guess I’ll now need a decent headset as otherwise I’ll be very annoying to anyone I sit next to on a train or plane. I hate sitting next to an ignorant traveller who has their music on full blast oblivious to the annoyance of their fellow travellers. Anyone got any recommendations… preferably headphones available through FBA so that I can get them delivered for free tomorrow?
2 Responses
Amazon are definitely taking over the world!
Re the headphones – get a pair of Bose QuietComfort 20’s – they’re expensive, but brilliant. And, hey! You can get them through Prime!
You can do this already with google play store on Android without a subscription and you pay for what you watch instead. Better choice of movies too