Amazon’s push to rival Apple in the digital media space took another step forward on Wednesday with the release of an Amazon Instant Video app for iPad, as noted by 9 to 5 Mac. The free software, found in the iTunes App Store, can play back all 120,000 titles in Amazon’s video library of movies and television shows, both for rent and purchase. Amazon Prime members can also use their membership to watch thousands of videos at no additional charge.
This marks the second time in as many months that Amazon has expanded digital content support to iOS. In June, the company launched an iOS version of its Amazon Cloud Player, bringing local and streaming support for Amazon music libraries. It’s an interesting play because Amazon has typically kept certain apps for media playback either on Android devices or on its own device, the Kindle Fire.
In fact, although the Kindle Fire is based on Android, it’s surprising that Amazon’s Instant Video is coming first to the iPad and not Android phones or tablets, such as the Nexus 7. Instant Video is the sole part of Amazon’s digital ecosystem that the Fire has while other Android tablets must rely on Google Play, Netflix or other video services. Unless you hack the device, that is.
I suspect Android support for Instant Video is next but for now, many iPad owners are sure to be happy with the new app. Content in Amazon Instant Video for iPad can be paused or stopped and then picked up again later in the same place on the iPad or any other device that supports Amazon Instant video: Kindle Fire, Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3, PCs, Macs, and any television or Blu-Ray player that supports it.
