Youtube unleashed its format for mobile devices in 2007, but it is now giving another revamp because of the proliferation of better mobile hardware, specifically connected devices with HTML5 compliant browsers. The refurbished YouTube Mobile is more like the main site and works with iPhone and Android browsers.
“YouTube consumption on mobile devices has also increased considerably: playbacks were up 160% in 2009 over the previous year. And we are excited to announce that YouTube Mobile now receives more than 100 million video playbacks a day,” blogged Youtube product manager Andrey Doronichev.
Doronichev also stated that previous mobile hardware was modest and “prevented the mobile experience from keeping up with YouTube on the desktop.”
The change to an HTML5-based mobile exposure comes only a week after YouTube published a public memo stating several places where HTML5 falls short when compared to Flash for delivering video. But Flash currently is not an option on mobiles. So, while HTML5-based video playback may not be YouTube’s first choice on the desktop (even though the company has been experimenting with it), it makes perfect sense on mobiles.
The entire mobile YouTube site has been enhanced for the small screen, and the experience on the phone is now much tighter. The new and improved m.YouTube.com is faster and comes with a user interface that offers larger, more touch-friendly elements. Browse YouTube’s mobile site with any modern mobile with a browser that supports HTML5’s and is much more responsive, (works great on iPhones, iPads and Android phones) and you will also notice that when you click on a video thumbnail, the video loads inside a new browser-based player.
“With the mobile YouTube site, Google is pulling attention to how important and how powerful the HTML5 standard is and what it can do. This plays nicely into the argument Apple has been having with Flash,” said Brad Shimmin, an analyst at Current Analysis. “Additionally, you have limited access to the videos on YouTube with the native app, and some of those videos are streamed for low bandwidth even if you have high bandwidth, which is ridiculous.”
Youtube has also enabled touch-based elements for mobile navigation but punters still get the same basic feature set. Also, the new mobile YouTube mirrors features and functions from the .com site, including search query suggestions, playlist creations, and the chance to favorite, like or unlike videos from a smartphone.
There are also new features that are not in the YouTube iPhone app. The library is easier to navigate, the search box suggests results as you type, videos can be bookmarked like web pages, and favorites and the new “like”-style ratings have been added.
YouTube is indicating to the mobile Internet’s speedy growth. According to a recent Morgan Stanley study, more users will connected to the Internet through mobile instruments than desktop PCs within the next five years. Internal data from Google, YouTube’s parent, also indicates that people are watching more YouTube videos from mobile devices — playbacks rose 160 percent in 2009. In total, YouTube Mobile sees more than 100 million video playbacks every day.
The YouTube mobile site gives the search engine giant an opportunity to show that native applications are not always the best solution. For one, the video quality is markedly better, and the web-app’s interface has been updated to look like a native app, with big, touchscreen-friendly button icons.
“For the last year so, native apps was an excellent way to go for your mobile devices to get the best functionality. That is still true when you are dealing with applications that utilize native system-level functions, like attending a web conference,” Shimmin said. “But with the draconian rules for submitting applications for approval, HTML5 could open the door for IT departments to incorporate more functionality onto mobile devices.”
YouTube also introduced Leanback, which allows desktop users to view continuous YouTube videos tailored to their interests.
Watch the video demo starring some soccer player guy using both an iPhone and a Nexus One: