Watching Movies on your Mobile. Netflix vs LoveFilm

Everyone loves streaming videos, but while YouTube satisfies our cravings for 30 second clips of cats falling off things, it is premium services like Netflix and LoveFilm that can actually change the way we consume movies and TV shows.

You may be used to streaming content from one or both of these services to your smart TV, games console or PC. However, there are also official mobile apps offered by both companies that let you access the entire library of films and programs when you are on the move with your smartphone or tablet.

So in the battle of Netflix vs LoveFilm, which is able to provide the better portable streaming experience and which should you choose to keep you entertained?

Compatible handsets

First and foremost you will want to know which of the best movie apps are compatible with which smartphone operating systems, because this will obviously dictate the type of access you will be able to receive on your device.

Netflix has apps for Android, Windows Phone (check out our Android Vs Windows OS battle), iPad and iPhone, which means it covers the vast majority of popular platforms and will work on both smartphones and tablets. There is no BlackBerry OS app at the moment, which is a little disappointing and users of this platform probably should not hold their breath for one to arrive.

LoveFilm has apps for Android, Apple’s iOS and even Nokia’s now defunct Symbian platform, the latter of which is nevertheless popular give that many users will still own devices which run it.

Like Netflix it has no BlackBerry app, although it is also lacking official Windows Phone support, which might alienate users of Microsoft’s mobile OS.

App capabilities

How do we compare Netflix vs LoveFilm in terms of app capabilities. The apps offered by Netflix and LoveFilm are somewhat dependant on the type of service that each company is geared up to offer users in the UK.

Netflix is a pure streaming service for British customers, which means that you can only access it if you have a compatible device and a network connection of some kind.

In keeping with this mobile app lets you watch any of the movies and TV shows that are currently included in the Netflix library at no extra cost, so as long as you already have a subscription you can download it free of charge and start using it immediately.

LoveFilm, on the other hand, is a company that built itself up around the ability to offer DVD rentals through a postal service and although it has branched out into streaming recently, it is quite restricted on the devices that can access LoveFilm Instant. If you’re lucky enough to own an Apple iPad or Kindle Fire, subscribers can stream the plethora of titles with ease.

For non iPad users, instead you can use its smartphone software to organise your current rentals, update your wishlist and control every aspect of your ‘By Post’ account. This obviously gives Netflix a huge advantage, because all of its streaming potential remains intact even when accessed via a portable device.

Connectivity considerations

Obviously when using either of these apps you will need internet access, either via a WiFi hotspot or through your handset’s mobile network compatibility.

For the best possible video streaming performance with Netflix you will probably want to invest in a 4G smartphone with a similarly endowed data tariff, since this is faster than 3G and will allow you to enjoy consistent playback with higher quality audio and video.

Of course you will need to be aware that streaming an entire movie or even a 30 minute TV show to your smartphone will eat into your data allowance quite quickly, so keep that in mind when you start using Netflix or other similar services, because otherwise you might get a nasty shock when your bill arrives.

So we’ve put Netflix vs LoveFilm through their paces. Who takes your fancy?

Check out our range of smartphones that cater quite perfectly for streaming YouTube or Netflix