If the success of Netflix has proven anything, it’s that people still want to rent movies. Sure, there are some out there who want to own their media, but some of us just want to kick back and enjoy a movie without having to fork over the purchase price. Even with Netflix, customers have to subscribe. What if you just want to rent a movie every once in a while? Blockbuster isn’t doing too great, and in any case if you want to rent from there you have to make at rip. Pay per use rentals is an inevitability, and thanks to mSpot, it’s coming to your BlackBerry. They’ve introduced Mobile Movies for many platforms, and thankfully the Berry is on there. Now you can pay for single rentals and watch them anywhere.
If you’re stuck on a train or bus with nothing to do, you can now drop $4.99 and watch one of the roughly 350 movies mSpot currently offers. This is just an initial library. Like any multimedia service, it will take time to get more studios on board. As mSpot’s Mobile Movies service grows, they should be able to work out deals with more studios — and, if I can think wishfully for a moment, maybe they can strike better deals if this takes off.
If you plan to watch more than a movie or two per month on your phone, mSpot also offers Movie Club, which puts movies on a credit system. Each movie typically costs five credits, though that can vary depending on the title. For $9.99 customers get 20 credits per month, $12.99 gets 30 credits, and $15.99 gets 40 credits. These expire at the end of each month. New customers get 15 bonus credits upon signing up.
Would you watch movies on your BlackBerry? People seem to do it on their iPhones all the time — though they might not be experiencing the film. If you’re interested (and not a curmudgeon like David Lynch), you can check out mSpot’s Mobile Movies by heading to http://www.mspot.com from your mobile browser.
