Hulu teases Android app due soon, but just for some devices
updated 11:45 pm EST, Sat March 12, 2011
Hulu Plus gets ready for Android
Hulu gave a sign that its Hulu Plus for Android plans were getting closer with a new teaser in its device list. It now shows the Plus service "coming soon," but only for certain devices. Using the TV streaming will require "select Android OS 2.2 phones," Hulu said.
The choice of photo showed the Nexus S, which runs Android 2.3, but it's believed to be just a placeholder.
While no reason was given for why the access would be limited, it's most likely due to Android fragmentation. Netflix warned that the platform has wildly varying DRM support in most versions and that it would have to write too much code to support most or all Android devices. Its support is coming, but it will be limited to certain processors and shut out a large portion of the Android community. Hulu, which has to guard against stream ripping to please its studio partners, faces a similar barrier.
Android 3.0 could be a candidate in the long term through its support for modular DRM that would let Hulu, Netflix or anyone else implement the same copy protection regardless of the processor or custom software. iOS devices are so far the only ones to support Hulu Plus while mobile through their support for a consistent copy protection scheme. [via Engadget]
