Hot on the heels of my request the other day for YouTube to offer up some indication that they were serious about mobilising their content, today we are gifted with the official YouTube java application. YouTube maintains that it’s only compatible with a few handsets, but we know better than that and Stefan @ IntoMobile.com was able to find a link (available here) to allow any phone to download it. Just visit the link on your mobile handset to download and install the Java application and enjoy YouTube anywhere.
A few tidbits, as I’ve had a chance to play with the application. The UI is fantastic. Very catchy and flashy, with an extremely robust experience. I’m able to search and browse ‘virtually’ the entire YouTube library, but even better, I’m able to log into my account to view my favorites, look up my subscriptions, and I can even upload video files directly to YouTube through the application, which means mobile uploads are now beyond the MMS size limitations.
However, the quality is sub-par (though honestly I didn’t expect much from YouTube in this department) and it (obviously) requires an unlimited data plan to get going. Smartphone owners rejoice, it WILL work over WiFi, if you’re stuck on EDGE but have a HotSpot nearby, you can enjoy a bit better quality.
Also, unfortunately it STILL does not offer me the RSS-type setup to see the latest videos from my subscriptions. However, it’s extremely close, and hopefully soon with an update we’ll be able to check out the latest videos from our subscriptions directly on our mobile phones.
Also, if you’re using an S60v3 handset, you should checkout EmTube. It is a free native S60 application that offers superior quality and nearly the same features.