Motorola and Blockbuster sign movie deal

Blockbuster is to launch a movies-on-demand service for Motorola handsets.

The service will enable as-yet-unnamed Moto handsets to access Blockbuster’s existing digital movie library, which the rental firm has promised runs to “thousands” of titles.

Specific technical details are still being ironed out, Motorola owners will in essence access the same OnDemand film library that North American customers can currently access through a dedicated set-top box service.

Blockbuster OnDemand – which isn’t available in the UK – allows you to download movies on a pay-as-you-go basis, working in much the same way as Microsoft’s Xbox Live movie rentals technology.

“Together with Blockbuster we intend to deliver an unparalleled portable movie experience on our next-generation handsets,” said Christy Wyatt, software platforms veep, at Motorola Mobile Devices.

Of course, movies on mobiles requires phones with decent screen sizes, Motorola should - we'd hope - also start developing phones with iPhone-size displays. ®