With profits down and stores closing, Blockbuster is pinning part of its survival strategy on cellphones, a space that already has one small player up and running -- and thus far has no interest whatsoever from rival Netflix.
Hoping more people will have occasion to watch big-screen hits on the tiny screen, Blockbuster has partnered with T-Mobile for an OnDemand movie download service, available on the new HTC HD2 smartphones (pictured).
The phone is due to hit stores on March 24, and the company plans to offer a similar service through Motorola smartphones by the end of the year.
To rent movies, users access the company's website on their phone, search or browse the catalogue and enter credit-card information.
Rentals are good for one to two days, depending on the film; users can play, pause or restart at will. They can still receive calls and text messages while their film is playing.
Movies can be rented on an á là carte basis for $4.99, or customers can join a three-tiered movie club, which allows them to rent at a discounted rate of roughly $10 for four movies a month. A few releases are free, and only registration is required.
But while mSpot anticipates it will have over 1,000 movies by the end of the year, that pales in comparison to the 10,000 titles that Blockbuster already boasts.
Blockbuster's pricing will also be á là carte, with older titles renting for $1.99 and new releases renting for $4.99. The company offers movies for sale, for between $10 and $20.
Part of the reason that Blockbuster feels comfortable curtailing its service to just a few phones is it believes that at 4.3 inches, the screens on the T-Mobile phones are big enough for consumers to realistically enjoy watching a feature length film on a mobile device.
