Digital Entertainment News: September 12, 2006
Amazon has launched a new service called Unbox that allows customers to use the Internet to download movies and TV programs either for purchase or rental. For example, it costs $17.97 to purchase the movie Napoleon Dynamite, but $3.99 to rent it. As another example, the Star Trek episode "The Trouble With Tribbles" can be purchased for $1.99. You can start watching a movie before the download is complete, but Amazon estimates that if you're downloading a two-hour movie using a DSL connection, you'll need to be about an hour into the download before you can begin watching. Unless your computer is connected to your TV, you'll have to watch what you download on your computer screen. It will be interesting to see how many people use Amazon Unbox and how this service fares against competitors like Movielink and CinemaNow.
