Australia’s own Madman Entertainment has a great little homegrown anime streaming service in AnimeLab, and after half a year on PC and Android it’s finally making its way to the iPad and iPhone.
I haven’t tried the new AnimeLab out on iPhone yet but the iPad interface, at least, is excellent — Madman was nice enough to give us an early look at the app. Like another streaming service we like, it’s simply laid out, and offers a straightforward and easy to understand route into streaming your favourite anime. Everything is still free, too, which is great.
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Like the PC/Mac and Android apps, you’ll get video streamed to your iOS mobile device in up to 720p HD, 5.5Mbps quality — and because of that, you’ll need to jump on Wi-Fi rather than use your phone’s mobile data connection (so, obviously, you should invest in a hotspot). This also safeguards you from any unsightly excess data bills, too.
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It’s literally just hit the Apple App Store, so if you want to try it out, you’ll be one of the first. AnimeLab launched in May last year, and at the time said it would be free for a limited time, but that’s still true at least eight months later.
The content of AnimeLab changes on a regular basis, but big titles like Attack On Titan and Tokyo Ghoul stick around. There’s also a simulcast section in the app, too, so you can also watch shows the second they’re released and broadcast in Japan.
I have a lot of time for AnimeLab — it does streaming really well — and it’s great to see that the service continues to evolve, continues to add features, and continues to stay free. Props to Madman for sticking with it. [iTunes]