Aug. 1, 2012 at 10:52 AM ET
If it weren't for a busy schedule, I'd be making a date with the new Amazon Instant Video app, my iPad, and several episodes of "The West Wing" right now. After all, Amazon's shiny new app might be the best thing that's happened to iPad-toting Amazon Prime members in a while. (And it's pretty great for everyone else, too.)
The Amazon Instant Video app allows folks to purchase or rent any of the videos from Amazon's gigantic library on their iPads. Those who happen to have Amazon Prime memberships — which run for $79 per year and include all sorts of perks — can also stream the 20,000 or so TV shows and movies in Amazon's Prime Instant Video library for free.
Of course, the features that should get many folks particularly excited is the ability to download purchased and rented videos for offline viewing. (Yes, that does mean that I'll be catching up on some TV shows the next time I fly.)
Other neat features include a watchlist to keep track of videos you want to view across all devices that support Instant Video, the ability to seamlessly switch between devices mid-video, and all the things you'd typically expect from a video-streaming app.
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