Redbox Instant By Verizon

My family loves standing in front of the big red box at the grocery store and choosing a movie to take home for the night.  I love the convenience they offer - not having to go in the store or wait in line for my rental or return.  When I heard that Redbox was now available to stream right to my television, I was thrilled! 

My happiness was short-lived.  It was simple to set up my account, but I was never able to log on to my account using my laptop.  When I'd try to log in, the site didn't recognize that I had created an account.  I could log on and watch movies using my phone, but that also proved to be frustrating.  I expected to be able to watch a plethora of free movies (since I would be paying a monthly fee for the service), but the availability of free movies was very limited.  I do like that Redbox has seamlessly integrated their catalog of movies so that if you found a movie you wanted, you could easily see if it was available to stream instantly or reserve for pickup at the kiosk.  I also like that the low $8 monthly fee also includes 4 rentals at the kiosk each month.  If you used those rentals, you've already made good use of more than half of the fee you paid.

The bottom line is this - there are some definite kinks to work out with this new service.  I hope they get the problems worked out quickly while they have a great reputation.

If you'd like an opportunity to try the service for yourself, head over to Redbox Instant by Verizon's beta page and sign up.

I tried this service free of charge in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion.  If you'd like to try products for free, become a BzzAgent.