Netflix survey inquires about iPhone streaming, even though CEO says 'not coming soon'

Today's movies-in-motion tidbit comes courtesy of Mike over at the Hacking Netflix blog, who let us know that some of his readers are receiving the popup survey above. It inquires as to the reader's interest in a form of Netflix streaming (Wi-Fi only, unsuprisingly) for the iPhone. That's the same streaming for iPhone/iPad that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called "not a priority" and "not near-term" as recently as last month.

While it's tempting to see this survey as a sign of an imminent iPhone or iPad app full of streaming movie delights -- assuming such an app would make it into the App Store through Apple's "user confusion" gauntlet, which is by no means a sure bet -- don't throw away your iTunes gift cards just yet. The first hints of Netflix's upcoming Wii streaming capability, which is due to launch sometime this spring, also appeared in a survey on the company's site... back in March of 2009, almost 10 months before the announcement of the Wii feature. While such a feature would be quite popular (all of the game consoles have some streaming functionality already, and two-thirds of subscribers have used the service), it seems like we may have a while to wait.

Read on to see the full survey text.

[H/T 9to5Mac]Netflix survey copy:

Imagine that Netflix offers its subscribers the ability to instantly watch movies & TV episodes on their iPhone. 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.

Whenever you want to instantly watch content on your iPhone, your iPhone must be connected to a Wi-Fi network (such as one you might have at home or at work, or in public places like coffee shops, book stores, hotels, airports, etc.)

If this functionality were available, how likely would you or someone in your household be to instantly watch movies & TV episodes on your iPhone via a Wi-Fi network?

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