Quick Take: Netflix's Whatchamacallit
By Alyce Lomax
October 2, 2007
One of Netflix's (Nasdaq: NFLX) features seems to have an identity crisis.
Yesterday, my Foolish colleague Katrina Chan and I were discussing that it's unclear what Netflix's streaming movie service is actually called.
A recent Netflix press release calls it Instant Watching, but in the body of the release it's referred to as the "instant watching feature." Members use a tab on the home page that says "Watch Instantly." Related questions on the site mention "instant viewing." The truth is, it seems as though this isn't a nameless product, it's more of an activity. Anyone want to nominate "I Want To Watch It Now Darn It" or "Instant Gratification, click here"?
The week before last, I ranted that Netflix's instant whatever-it-is shuts out members who use Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Macs. (Many thanks to the Foolish readers who gave me the heads-up that the feature is available for Firefox users who use an Internet Explorer plug-in.)
I am a big fan of Netflix (and very bearish on Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI)), but I can't say it's so impressive that Netflix doesn't even have a proper name for its streaming movie service. Does that signify an inability to commit?
Instant bummer.
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