Streaming services like Spotify and Amazon Instant Video offer the option for offline playback -- the key benefit of which is the ability to listen to or watch content in situations where Wi-Fi is not available -- and it may only be a matter of time before Netflix offers the same. Its CEO Reed Hastings, when questioned on the prospect in an earnings call this week, clearly indicated it's not something he's opposed to.
"We should keep an open mind on all this... as we expand around the world where we see an uneven set of networks, it's something we should keep an open mind about."
Should the service one day implement it, it's likely stored content would disappear after 48 hours.