Could this mean approval issues for the former?
Movie rental service Netflix is canvassing users about their interest in an iPhone app to stream films and TV shows.
The app would work over Wi-Fi only, but the description in the company's survey makes it sound like a pretty appealing application:
"The selection availability to instantly watch includes some new releases, lots of classics and TV episodes. There are no advertisements or trailers, and movies start in as little as 30 seconds. You can fast-forward, rewind, and pause or watch again. The movies & TV episodes you instantly watch are included in your Netflix membership for no additional fee."
Although iPad isn't mentioned in the survey, Apple's tablet would surely also be a suitable candidate for the application. No details have been announced on likely pricing.
There might be a question mark over Apple approving a streaming Netflix app, though - it would be a direct competitor to the company's iTunes Store, which sells and rents digital movies to iPhone users.
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In fact, just this week new rumours have emerged that Apple is planning a cloud-based streaming movies service, which will let iTunes users watch films from any internet-connected device.
"Basically, they want to eliminate the hard drive," one source tells CNET. Which should make things interesting when a company like Netflix submits an app that has the same ambition.
Then again, Apple has approved Spotify, Pandora and other streaming music apps, so perhaps it would be fine with streaming movies services that compete with it too.
