WE have been Amazon Prime Video users for a while now, using a VPN [virtual private network] connection to be able to watch our favorite shows. But we’ve been monitoring the local Play Store and App Store almost every day since it was announced that Amazon is preparing for a global launch of its streaming-video service. Today, December 14, look at what popped up in our other account!

(Update, December 15: It’s official: The Philippines is one of the 200 countries and territories where Amazon Prime Video is now available. See the complete list here. You may already use a local address when you sign up for a seven-day free trial. You will be charged $2.99 or roughly P150 every month for the first six months after that. Our recommendation? Watch all the videos that you like during that trial period then cancel your subscription. It’s best to stick to Netflix for now. There are only a few good TV shows and movies that are accessible in the Philippines as of today. Monitor the service, though, as Amazon may be adding more in the next few days or weeks — which is likely to happen.) 

Surprise! It’s Amazon Prime Video! And the description says the app is already available in “over 200 countries and territories around the globe.” However, we can’t find a list of those countries and territories; we would have liked to see if the Philippines is one of them. But it is not in the app. It is not on the retail giant’s corporate website. There is no press release on it. None. So we went ahead and created a new Amazon account.

Guess what? We got in using a local credit card (you won’t have to pay $6 or about P300 just yet because there’s a 30-day free trial) — but we had to invent an address in California. And yes, we were able to access the service without using a VPN connection. However, we can only watch Amazon originals such as The Man in the High Castle, Goliath, and The Grand Tour, not those from add-on channels like HBO’s hit show Westworld. 

We were able to access Amazon Prime Video without using a VPN connection. However, we can only watch Amazon originals.

Coincidentally, the streaming service was officially launched in India two hours ago, so we’ll probably hear from Amazon in the next few days. Hopefully, what we’ll hear from the company is a confirmation that Amazon Video has already started to roll out to other parts of the world as well. It would be nice to have another option besides Netflix, HOOQ, and iflix in the country. We’ve reached out to them, and we’ll let you know as soon as we get a reply.

Video you may want to watch: Top 10 YouTube videos of 2016

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