gadgets: Netflix on iPhone/iPod Touch

That sound you may have just heard was the sound of office productivity dropping… or perhaps increasing. Thanks to a tweet from Dave Zatz of Zatz Not Funny! I discovered that Netflix has finally released their app*–initially just for iPad–for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Last we heard from Netflix on this issue was “coming this summer” with no estimated date, but the app is out now, and aside from a few login timeouts, it’s working fine. The video quality isn’t bad for a streaming app, I usually don’t watch much via streaming aside from an old Britcom, but a few flicks back and forth through “The Men Who Stare At Goats” shows that the quality over wifi is excellent, and jumping to various points through the movie is much faster than trying to fast forward/rewind at home.

I give it a few days before our office blocks off connecting to Netflix over bandwidth concerns, but for now it adds one more helpful diversion to the day. I was already addicted to using the AirVideo app, but having access to Netflix’s streaming queue sure doesn’t hurt! Whether this will serve to increase or decrease my productivity remains to be seen, but if you’ll excuse me… right now I have a date with “Casino Royale.”

Update: Netflix’s offical blog now has the announcement up.

Jamie Odell, director of product management, here. We hinted at a free Netflix App for the iPhone and iPod touch in April, announced it in June and I’m happy to share that it is available now! If you want to instantly watch TV episodes and movies on your iPhone or iPod touch, all you need to do is get the free Netflix App from the App Store at http://iTunes.com/apps/netflix and have a Netflix membership starting at $8.99 a month. What’s the first thing you’ll watch via your iPhone or iPod touch.