Amazon Instant Video Comes to the iPad!

Yesterday when we talked about Hulu coming to Apple TV, my comment was that if Amazon Instant Video was also available, I would no longer have a need for the Roku.

Guess what? Amazon Instant Video is now available! Here is the description:

Watch thousands of titles available from Prime Instant Video at no additional cost with an Amazon Prime membership and over 120,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store by installing the Amazon Instant Video app. Download purchased and rented videos from Your Video Library for offline viewing on airplanes, road trips, or any time a WiFi connection is unavailable. Keep track of movies and TV shows to watch later by adding them to Your Watchlist. A selection of top Prime Instant Video titles is included in the app, and you can visit Amazon to add other Prime titles to Your Watchlist. Start watching a video on an iPad and Whispersync technology automatically syncs your place between devices, allowing videos to be resumed from where you left off on a Kindle Fire, PS3, PC, Mac, or hundreds of models of connected TVs and Blu-ray players.

With Amazon Instant Video, you can:

• Stream thousands of titles available from Prime Instant Video at no additional cost with a Prime membership, or watch over 120,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store
• Download purchased and rented videos from Your Video Library
• Shop over 120,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store by visiting Amazon
• Add videos to your Watchlist from a PC, Mac, or Kindle Fire for later viewing on your iPad
• Subscribe to a TV Season Pass by visiting Amazon and episodes will automatically be available on your iPad the day after they air
• Start watching on your iPad, and resume watching right where you left off on a Kindle Fire, PS3, PC, Mac, or hundreds of models of connected TVs and Blu-ray players with Amazon Whispersync.

Over at 9-to-5 Mac they noted that attempts to stream to Apple TV over Airplay only support audio right now, but hopefully it will eventually fully support streaming.

For now, all I know is:
– I no longer need a Roku instead of an Apple TV.
– I no longer need the Kindle Fire.

This is a very interesting strategy for Amazon – one that is VERY different from what Apple is doing. And for me – it is working. The more they allow integration with Apple, the more I end up supporting Amazon. Of course, saving at least 10% over Apple on everything also helps.

What about you? Are you planning to take advantage of this?

Head to the iTunes App Store and grab Amazon Instant Video for the iPad!