Netflix is testing a new “Just for Kids” interface that allows children to browse media by character.
Select users who have the feature will notice a new tab on the main menu of their accounts between “Watch Instantly” and “Browse DVDs.” It opens to a sliding bar of characters from popular children’s television series and movies.
Clicking on one of the figures opens a new window that shows media choices featuring that character. As in the site’s current “Watch Instantly” section, clicking on the thumbnail of a movie or television episode launches instant play.
A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment on the new user interface, saying that it is being tested and the company has not announced anything further.
Tester accounts seem to have been assigned randomly. The person on our staff who had the feature enabled on her account was not one of our employees who watches Netflix with their children. She had no recommended movies that fall into the children’s genre.
What does not seem random is Netflix’s interested in building a user interface that children can easily access themselves.
By age 8, more than two-thirds of children use the Internet on a daily basis, according to a report by The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. This frequent Internet use combined with historically healthy appetites for television make them ideal targets for an online streaming site like Netflix.
And as tablets make streaming increasingly portable, kids are becoming an even bigger market. A study released in November found that 31% of children ages 6-12 wanted an iPad over any other electronic device.
An interface that allows kids to locate and watch media by themselves could a be a huge Netflix selling point for their parents — especially when it comes time to take a long roadtrip or visit the supermarket.
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Posted on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:56:16 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/YrC-mxHZ18E/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/12/netflix-rolls-out-kid-friendly-tab/#comments
Select users who have the feature will notice a new tab on the main menu of their accounts between “Watch Instantly” and “Browse DVDs.” It opens to a sliding bar of characters from popular children’s television series and movies.
Clicking on one of the figures opens a new window that shows media choices featuring that character. As in the site’s current “Watch Instantly” section, clicking on the thumbnail of a movie or television episode launches instant play.
A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment on the new user interface, saying that it is being tested and the company has not announced anything further.
Tester accounts seem to have been assigned randomly. The person on our staff who had the feature enabled on her account was not one of our employees who watches Netflix with their children. She had no recommended movies that fall into the children’s genre.
What does not seem random is Netflix’s interested in building a user interface that children can easily access themselves.
By age 8, more than two-thirds of children use the Internet on a daily basis, according to a report by The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. This frequent Internet use combined with historically healthy appetites for television make them ideal targets for an online streaming site like Netflix.
And as tablets make streaming increasingly portable, kids are becoming an even bigger market. A study released in November found that 31% of children ages 6-12 wanted an iPad over any other electronic device.
An interface that allows kids to locate and watch media by themselves could a be a huge Netflix selling point for their parents — especially when it comes time to take a long roadtrip or visit the supermarket.
More About: Children, netflixFor more Tech & Gadgets coverage:Follow Mashable Tech & Gadgets on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Tech & Gadgets channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:56:16 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/YrC-mxHZ18E/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/12/netflix-rolls-out-kid-friendly-tab/#comments