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  I covered the Crunchyroll iPhone app the other day, so figured it was only fair to cover the Anime Network equivalent - and this will be in a little more detail, since I had to pay to download it. The app costs £3.99 from the iTunes App Store, which includes a 30-day mobile subscription to the service - extensions to the subscription can be bought directly through the app in 30-day, 120-day or 1-year options. It's important to note that this doesn't give you subscriber access to the Anime Network website - this must currently be subscribed to separately. I'm told that AN are working on combining to two, but no word on when that'll happen.
Even the subscription only seems to grant limited access compared to the website, though. A total of 17 titles are listed in the UK app's catalogue, a decent mix of TV series and movies - but for the TV shows, you're limited in all cases to only the first one or two episodes of the series. That's not much of a menu, and even if you made use of the 'unlimited' streaming that the subscription offers, you could be through it all in substantially less than the month that comes with the app. There is a Wallpapers section to the app, which allows you to choose from a number of wallpaper images to spruce up your iPhone with, but again the selection is very limited - only 7 images at the time of writing. Something else in need of extension.
  On the plus side, the app does permit streaming over 3G as well as wifi (the Crunchyroll app is limited to wifi only), although check your cell provider's terms and conditions - I know O2 specifically forbid streaming, and may well get tetchy if you abuse the app.
One other major difference between CR and AN is on the dub / sub front - with Crunchyroll, it's all subtitled a the focus is on shows that are currently airing (or recently aired) in Japan. Anime Network concentrates more on back-catalogue titles, and where a dub exists for a series, that seems to be the version that streams. Having been on the subbie side of the great dub vs sub debate for many years, that may take me a while to get used to.
Initial verdict, then, is that AN will need to add a good deal more content to the app if it's going to be worth a regular subscription. If the website is anything to go by, they certainly have access to plenty of material, but at the very least I'd expect to see full series available for streaming rather than just selected episodes. For the asking price, though, the app is worth checking out, even if you don't extend the subscription past the included month. If you want full-size versions of those screenshots, by the way, you'll find them over on Flickr.
UPDATE: Apparently, new episodes & movies are due to be added to the mobile player on a weekly basis, which neatly works around the problem of lack of content - as long as AN stick to that commitment. I will be checking. :)
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