YouTube hits iPhone

YouTube is now available on Apple TV - but that's just a footnote. Apple also announced that it will include a specialized YouTube app with the iPhone when the long-awaited handheld device ships on 29 June. Starting today, Apple TV users can download a free software update that allows them to “easily navigate through YouTube’ …

[Barry Rueger]

Not news

Rogers Wireless is already offering YouTube on phones in Canada. Although honestly I can't see the appeal.

http://www.shoprogers.com/store/wireless/services/vision/faqs.asp

[JJ]

More Apple hype/lies...

Yet again, the iPhone has functionality that is claimed to be new and/or innovative, and yet seems to be anything but!

On some sources it appears that Apple is claiming to be the first mobile device to be able to play back a 'new' video format - in reality this looks like h.264, and the iPhone would be a long way from being the first mobile device to play this back, including playback of higher resolution/framerate videos, with the option for TV output.

Plus of course YouTube Mobile is already available, so at best they're playing catchup.

And it's not like they can claim better video quality, it depends on the source and there's no way YouTube videos are ever going to look good, particularly streamed to a mobile, particularly one without 3G support.

So far I've seen very little, if anything on the iPhone that is either new or innovative, though there have been obvious features missing. Apart from a flashy interface, it really doesn't look like it has much to offer.

Of course the hype machine doesn't care if it's true or accurate, and the Apple acolytes neither know nor care either.

[James Brash]

Streaming... on a GSM phone?

I dont quite understand how they plan on streaming video on a gsm phone, it takes about 10-30 seconds often to load a single page of text.

Unless they plan on making the videos available in an incredibly low resolution.

[Anonymous Coward]

Gentlemen, if I may...

JJ,

I read the same misleading statement. The statement is not hyperbole. Apple is only stating that they're the first mobile phone to be taking advantage of the new format being offered by YouTube... not the format by itself, and not YouTube, obviously. Arguably it could have been clearer, but seeing how you quickly glazed over it, even though I figured it out, makes it easy to think that others did the same. Steve Jobs thinks Microsoft invented the first software company too... so in the end, what ya gonna do? The iPhone is really something though.

James,

While its not know how well it will or won't work over EDGE (AT&T's upgrades to the service performance not withstanding) the iPhone is also Wi-Fi, and quite a number of people plan to be taking advantage of that fact.

[Dillon Pyron]

The appeal?

"Although honestly I can't see the appeal."

What? You mean watching a grainy image on a 2 inch screen isn't the most thrilling thing in the world for you? But I thought that TV on the phone was the next "killer app".

[Morely Dotes]

Too small, too slow, too expensive, and too locked-in

Sorry, the iPhone offers nothing that can't be had from the HTC Touch http://www.htctouch.com/ except a higher price tag, a lock-in to Apple's choice of wireless phone network, and a system that can't be expanded by the owner nor even have the battery changed without paying an outrageous bench charge.

I'd love to love the iPhone, but frankly, it looks to me like a design that should have come from Microsoft.

And the ability to watch YouTube videos is, if anything, another strike against it, not a "plus."

[Player_16]

Too..

From Microsoft?!?

I reckon you're talking about the YouTube video thingy. If you're talking about the phone, maybe it should've come from B&O (but it would've cost 3x as much).

[Scott Mckenzie]

HTC Touch

LOL, clearly you've never tried an HTC Touch then (obviously you haven't tried an iPhone) i'd get more success with two tins of beans and some string than the Touch, now that really is an over hyped unit that shows that whilst some people can't accept that the iPhone is going to do amazingly, manufacturers are worried...

I certainly won't be leaving my HTC Tytyn for anything other than an iPhone - when they get the GPS embedded that is :D

[Haku]

Image quality

The problem with YouTube (and most sites, except MetaCafe which gives you software so you CAN download higher quality video) is that the video quality is somewhat atrocious when you're used to cable/satellite/dvd/hd resolution.

I can see it now:

Apple TV owner with 50" plasma to friend: "If you stand right back and squint your eyes you can make the blocky image blur enough so you can see the *generic 'funny' crash clip you've probably seen before*"

Apple mobile owner to friend: "If you look close enough you can just about make out the *generic 'funny' crash clip you've probably seen before*"

[Mat]

Title

I already play youtube stuff directly on my telly thanks to the Wii but it would be fun to have the option to stream to an iPhone also.

Not sure what the whinging is about here - it's good to have things available and have more options not less... Someone said having this on the iPhone is a negative! In god's name why? If you don't want features, just carry a small brick around in your pocket - no ringtones, no games, no wifi, everything not there ... brilliant!?

Otherwise, I get the sense of people's complaint's being phone x has feature a, phone y has feature b, phone z has a c, thereby rubbishing the fact that iPhone has a, b and c. Whereas, I think it's looking like a quite nice complete(-ish) package but, also, I don't actually have to buy it... I can pick something else too if I want ....

Good luck to Apple - hope it sells very well for them and I expect the fall out will be a market with more options and more feature rich in general. Which is a "good" thing (by the way).

[sleepy]

iPhone is not for the 1% of the market that is geeky smartphone . .

. . it's for anyone who knows how to listen to music or surf the web. Wait for the final "one more thing..." on Friday 29th June before you judge it. It will sell far, far more than the 10M by the end of 2008 that Steve Jobs has publicly aimed for. We may see the market segmented into: cheap phones 80%, iPhones 20%, smart phones 1%. Follow along on apple.com what may well turn out to be the greatest product launch ever (in the US).