Netflix announces new $11.99 plan

Add another chapter to the ongoing price war saga
between Netflix and Blockbuster. Netflix, struggling
tenaciously to stay afloat, has added a new, low price tier to its DVD rental service: $11.99 for two discs at one time, with a maximum of four rentals per month. Will this attract the 17+ million new subscribers Netflix is banking on wooing over the next five years? It's going to depend on how much the psychological advantage of the "unlimited rentals" flag is worth. It seems to us that the monthly rental limit could add some mental overhead to the whole process — who wants to worry about keeping track of whether or not you've eclipsed that limit? And if you ever have to go out to ye olde physical rental store for that extra disc as a result, you'll have come close to blowing any of the  savings you would have had from the Netflix service. Maybe this plan is designed as a Trojan to really get folks thinking about the $17.99 unlimited, much as Apple hopes more than a few iPod shuffle-gazers will turn their heads toward an iPod mini, instead. We'll stick with our $17.99 slighty more expensive but faster than Blockbuster plan, regardless, thanks.

[Via TVHarmony]