Android Market to offer movie rentals

Google's Android OS has quickly matched the seemingly unbeatable iOS. But their one shortcoming has been the lack of music and movie support in the Android Market, to match the established and polished iTunes storefront.

But Android users are one step closer, now that Google has announced a movie rental service through the Android Market. Rentals begin at US$1.99, but new releases appear to be $3.99 each.

In addition to streaming the films, you can also "pin" them, meaning that you can temporarily save them to your device for offline viewing. While it's still no iTunes, the Android Movie Market appears to have a wealth of new releases and old favorites.

But the question remains: Are you really interested in renting movies for your mobile device? Obviously, tablet-owners will get greater enjoyment, but they make up a relatively small segment of the total Android population. So perhaps Google is just planning ahead for when their tablet market share grows.

source: Android Market via Android and Me