Streaming video website Hulu reportedly is at work on an application for Apple\'s iPhone and iPod touch. Citing a \'plugged-in industry executive,\' Silicon Alley Insider notes the mobile app will launch via Apple\'s App Store within the next few months, and will support both WiFi and 3G - the source adds the app is \'badass,\' promising an experience very close to Hulu\'s existing website.
The advertiser-supported Hulu website, launched in March 2008, offers full-length television episodes and feature films from co-founders NBC Universal and Fox as well as cable networks Comedy Central, USA, Bravo FX, Sundance, E!, G4, Versus and Oxygen - new episodes of hit series typically appear on the site the day after their primetime premiere.
While other web video apps for iPhone have already launched, none rival the content variety or user experience offered by Hulu, although Silicon Alley Insider contends the service\'s streaming architecture could make it impossible for users to download videos for subsequent viewing on airplanes, subways and the like.
Exactly a year ago during a keynote speech at the National Association of Broadcasters\' 2008 event in Las Vegas, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar suggested mobile devices are \'ripe for the Hulu experience.\'
Kilar declined to discuss specifics, but added \'It may not be identical [on every platform], but anything connected to the Internet would be a good fit for Hulu.\' Kilar even indirectly addressed the biggest challenge still hampering mobile multimedia\'s growth, citing the paramount importance of the user experience on Hulu\'s success or failure.
\'My mother has to be able to figure out the service in 15 seconds or less,\' he said, arguing that simplicity is so vital because entertainment is a luxury, not a necessity. \'Media is not like oxygen, food or shelter--you don\'t need it. This is an impulse business. You need to make it easy.\'
For more on Hulu\'s rumored iPhone app:- read this Silicon Alley Insider article