The interface for Amazon Instant Video could definitely be vastly improved. One big lack compared to Netflix is being able to start watching again something you were in the middle of watching. On Netflix, it’s in a Recently Watched “shelf”, and it automatically shows you what you were watching last.

With the Fire and Amazon, you go to the Videos tab. Your Watchlist does appear there as a shelf (below Prime Instant Video), but I don’t think it pays attention to what you watched last. For that reason, I haven’t put all that many movies on there…just to hard to swipe through looking for them. It is nice that I can also access it through my Roku, though.

I still use Netflix, but I am wavering on it…

Interestingly enough, when I look at my prime membership page, it says I’ve been a member since the beginning date of the first free one month trial, even though a couple of years went by before I became a paying member and started really using prime.

Regarding competition with Netflix: I also have both Netflix and prime. IMO, Amazon won’t really match Netflix until (a) it improves the selection, and (b) the Watchlist gets easier to use. I’ve added several things to my Amazon Watchlist that I just can’t find when I want to watch something later. Have you figured out how to use the watchlist?

I also have both, but Amazon has done a ton with Prime streaming recently…I’m not sure if you’ve looked at the offerings since the Epix addition in September?

They now have a lot more recent movies. For example, some movies that were theatrical releases last year:

Rango
No Strings Attached
Thor

Does that match Netflix?

Nope: they have movies that were in the theatres this year.

The Prime selection has been growing, though, and Amazon has been spending a lot of money on it.

For me, Prime doesn’t match Netflix, but it is getting closer. Prime is still mostly about the shipping…but going to a $7.99 monthly fee seems to me like positioning it against Netflix…

I think they’ll have both options: $7.99 per month, or $79 per year. $7.99 * 12 comes out to $95.88, by the way.

I think they’ll make both options available.

Of course, people who want to try out Prime have been able to do the free month, so I”m not sure how much the month-to-month helps with that. It does, though, allow people to use it without the $79 up front, and I think that would be attractive. Also, you might know, for example, that someone on your account was moving into a new house one month…that might be a good month for the $7.99 Prime.

I’m not sure why you’d be unhappy. You could continue to do it the way you had, or pay a bit more on a month-by-month basis. So, nothing has changed unless you were to take the new option.

Yes, that order combination thing can be tricky…always worth checking. I”m glad you got it figured out.

We didn’t do Prime for a long time, but now, we use it a lot. That $20 off deal is interesting…thanks for posting it!