Sony's Crackle app for iOS approved by Apple

Filed under: App Store, iOS

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Apr 19th 2011 at 11:30AM

A few months ago, we reported on how Apple rejected the Sony Reader app from the App Store, seemingly singling out the electronics and media company for punishment when similar apps like Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook readers for iOS were untouched.

Sony appears to have decided to follow the old maxim that "if you at first don't succeed, try, try again," since they have had a new app for iOS approved by Apple. The free Crackle app gives access to hundreds of movies in the Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics, and Tri-Star libraries, as well as thousands of TV series episodes.

Available for free are movies like Ghostbusters, series like Seinfeld and Married ... With Children, and The Three Stooges. According to Crackle's App Store description, you can build and manage your viewing queue on the app or online, and video streams over Wi-Fi and 3G. More new movies and TV episodes will be added on a regular basis.

So how is Sony making money on this? There are short ads that appear during the video, but most reviewers in the App Store are saying that they're so short that they're almost unnoticeable. It's a free app with free content, no subscription fee, and good quality, so it looks like a winner.

[via MacStories]

News: Crackle provides free movie and TV streaming to iOS

Crackle has released an iOS application allowing users to stream movies and TV shows from its online service to an iOS device. A division of Sony Picture Entertainment, the Crackle service was started back in 2007 to allow users to watch popular full-length movies and TV shows online, beginning with a web-based streaming player and later expanding to a wide variety of third-party hardware and mobile platforms. The release of the universal Crackle app for iOS devices now provides iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users with the ability to stream Hollywood movies and mainstream TV series directly to their device. The app provides unlimited, on-demand viewing of video content streamed over either a Wi-Fi or 3G connection, optimized for both the iPhone/iPod touch or iPad. Users can browse through movies, TV shows by genre or search by keyword and build a viewing queue for use within the app of online at Crackle.com. The library includes movies and TV series from Columbia Pictures, Tri-Star, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics and more; users can view a list of available content at the web site or directly within the app. Crackle requires iOS 4.0 or later and is available from the App Store as a free download. Crackle is available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia; not all content is available outside of the U.S.

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