As Netflix digs itself into a deeper and deeper hole, first hiking prices and then announcing that it would split its service in two, customers are becoming more and more disgruntled. According to new statistics from Frank N. Magid Associates, nearly one-third of Netflix users are seriously considering dropping the service.
The Netflix-Qwikster split looks like a major FAIL for the company, and Break Media has released a song to mark the occasion—the Netflix Fail Song.
Amid falling stock prices and rising customer outrage, Netflix has taken a calculated move to better their business and perception by splitting the company into two business, introducing the oddly named Qwikster. Read more
Reed Hastings, CEO and co-founder, openly acknowledge the crushing negative feedback, saying, “I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation.”
Netflix is having some serious communication issues with its users and in every attempt to fix the problem, it seems like they only succeed in making things worse.
All looked bright for the company, but in July, Netflix announced they would be changing their subscriber price structure on September 1, 2011, increasing the monthly fees by $6 without any improvement in service. Speculations were positive and even Wall Street thought the change would do the company good. But that didn’t happen. Last week, their stock prices took a dive of almost 19 percent.
Latin Americans do want newer content, just like Americans. I am sure that the new customers are delighted to at last have access to Netflix and its existing content.
The platform is only available on iPad. However, in a few weeks, there will be an iPhone version that can be used on an iPod Touch as well.
Netflix’s recognizes that video streaming makes it easier for kids to watch movies on on-demand with a variety of mobile devices. What about the parents? I am sure they prefer DVDs. I wonder if they will subscribe to both plans.
Griffin Technology’s Beacon is a piece of hardware that provides a gateway between an iOS device (iPhone, iPad and iPod touch) and home entertainment electronics. It does this by taking commands fromt he iOS device via Bluetooth and translating it to IR (infrared) signals used by most consumer electronics for remote control purposes. Griffin provides a free iOS app to work with the Beacon hardware. Dijit (the iOS app) was just updated to add a couple of interesting new features.
Beacon is even better (Griffin blog)
The most interesting new feature is the ability to get TV recommendations from Facebook friends. This is done by linking your Facebook account with Dijit and see what your friends like to watch in the “My Shows” tab. The other new features in this 2.5.1 update are:
- Switch between your device virtual remotes with an up/down swipe
- Ability to rename buttons
- Localized languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese
Dijit actually has useful features even if you do not have the Beacon hardware. It can display local TV show listings as well as your Netflix “Instant Queue.”
You can find Digit at:
Dijit Universal Remote with TV and Netflix Listings (iTunes App Store)
