The Ugly duckling is slowly turning into a Swan. Search Engine Giant Google owned YouTube is all set to undergo a metamorphosis. WebTrickz remarks, “Google’s YouTube was remarkably ugly for being the world’s most popular video portal -it was noisy, navigation wasn’t great, and the UI just seemed a bit outdated.” But all of that seems to be changing with the introduction of Cosmic Panda, the completely redesigned interface for YouTube, currently in an experimental mode.
Cosmic Panda offers a totally different look and a new experience for Videos, Playlists and Channels at YouTube.
Commenting on the new look Jason Kincaid of TechCrunch posts, “The new design makes significant changes to the way playlists are presented, moving them in some cases from a sidebar to a scrolling horizontal bar of thumbnails just beneath the video you’re watching. The video player now has a darker theme that looks more polished, and there’s a dark background behind the player that highlights the content you’re viewing. And channel pages look a lot nicer, with big, wide images for each video.”
WebTrickz adds to the description of the YouTube new look, “A video size option has been added that lets you watch a video in 3 different sizes – standard, medium and large. Furthermore, you will see a ‘Pop out’ option on right-clicking the video that opens just the video in a new window on browser. There is a blue “Feedback” button on left side of webpage which you can use to share thoughts and give your suggestions, so they can improvise it in future updates.”
Here’s how YouTube is describing the project:
So what the heck is Cosmic Panda?
We’re always trying out new things here at the Tube and Cosmic Panda is our way of letting you in on some of the fun.
Here’s what to expect when you follow the cosmic panda over the double rainbow:
- A new experience for watching videos and playlists
- More page designs and better editing tools to customize your channel
- Keep watching when moving between videos, playlists, and channels (Chrome only)
- Stylish new look and feel
- You can always jump back to the YouTube experience you know and love by coming back to this page or visiting TestTube.
However, Rachel King of Zdnet does not seeming to be waxing eloquent about the YouTube’s Cosmic Panda, “As for the new YouTube look, my initial thoughts are that while the video window is larger and has a sleeker look than before, I don’t like how large the related videos are and how that list is pushed down so far by an advertisement. Nevertheless, advertising will always win on YouTube,”she says.
To sample the new offering you can go here www.youtube.com/cosmicpanda and click “Try it Out!” If you think you are comfortable with the older version you can go back by selecting the “Older Version” option.
Google seems to be in the mood to face up to the competition. They first rolled out a fresh new design for Google Search, then a new light and spacious theme for Gmail, followed by the launch of its own social network “Google+. The YouTube experimental change seems to be the cherry on the cake.