Netflix is getting a fresh new look -- on tablets, at least.
In a post on the official Netflix blog, a product manager for the streaming and DVD service announced that Netflix's app for tablets is getting a new design. The updated interface is available now for Android tablets, including the new kids on the block Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, and should be available for the iPad in "the coming weeks."
The new Netflix app appears to focus more on large, touch-friendly images and less on text.
The new design is much more immersive and provides greater focus on the growing number of titles in the Netflix catalog. In fact, the new interface displays twice as many movies and TV shows as before, enabling you to discover even more titles you'll love. Also, we've taken greater advantage of the tablet's unique features, inviting you to swipe through rows of titles featuring larger artwork.
Here's a screenshot of the new interface, provided by Netflix, as the app would appear to a user who likes Mad Men, Breaking Bad and the movie Pitch Black:
Click for larger image.
Getting an attractive and functional tablet app is important for Netflix as they begin to shift away from the familiar DVD-by-mail service to one that emphasizes streaming media; Reed Hastings has said many times that he sees streaming as the future of movie-watching, one of the key decisions behind the (now scrapped) plan to split the company between physical and online media services.
The new interface is also just in time for the releases of the hotly-anticipated Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, two Android tablets that both release this week.
It has been a (relatively) quiet month for Netflix, whose stock price has plummeted from up above 300 to down below 90 in the months since the July price hike was announced. The company did announce a deal with Lionsgate for their soon-to-launch Netflix UK streaming service, though there has been little word on the renewal of deals with major American studios; most of these deals will be up for pricey renewals in 2012.
The new-look Netflix app is available to download now in the Android Market and should be ready for your download in iTunes some time soon.