Amazon Instant Video Update Offers First Episode Free, HBO Content And More
June 23, 2014
Amazon Instant Video, the official iOS app of the eponymous e-commerce giant's Prime-powered unlimited video streaming service, has just received a major update.
The update adds support for Amazon's First Episode Free, enabling users to stream the first episodes of selected TV shows for free. But there's a catch: First Episode Free videos include advertising breaks before and during playback.
The new version of Amazon Instant Video also features new video playback controls, including one-touch play/pause and 10-second skip forward/backward buttons, and a "Next Episode" button for quickly playing the next episode of the currently playing TV show. It also promises faster playback start time after pressing play.
The latest update to the app also highlights the inclusion of hit HBO series (featuring all seasons of "The Sopranos," "The Wire," and "Deadwood," and early seasons of "Boardwalk Empire" and "True Blood," to name a few) on Amazon Instant Video.
Also including bug fixes and stability improvements, the new version of Amazon Instant Video is available now on the App Store for free. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad running iOS 5.0 or later.
Note that First Episode Free support, the new video playback controls, and the playback start time speed ehancement all require iOS 6.0 or later.
Amazon Instant Video was updated and redesigned for iOS 7 last April.
With this latest update, Amazon continues to make June a pretty eventful month as far as its product offerings are concerned.
A couple of weeks ago, Amazon updated its Kindle app for iOS with support for Audible audiobooks. A couple of days later, it launched its Prime Music service and updated its Amazon Cloud Player with a new name (Amazon Music) and a new look as well as support for the new service. And just last week, it unveiled the Fire Phone to compete against Apple's iPhone.