IPhone, YouTube, WeGetAllWorkedUp
Apple picked up the pace of its extended iPhone foreplay today with the announcement that giddy new owners will find 10,000 YouTube videos available for viewing on that sumptuous screen, and judging by the excitement, you’d think they were releasing the recovered archives of the Great Library of Alexandria. Nonetheless, even as we speak, footage of amusing cats is being converted to the new high-quality H.264 format, ready to be slurpped down via Wi-Fi or AT&T’s EDGE network. And in related, expected news, owners of Apple TV are now a five-minute download away from enjoying those same wacky, user-created videos on their home screen.
I’m probably not the best one to weigh the value of this, given that I have no personal need (and only barely understand the desire) for immediate, universal YouTube access. But Jupiter’s Michael Gartenberg says it’s a big deal. “This is both impressive and important,” he writes. “Apple has just increased the overall value of two key devices with integration into YouTube by increasing the amount of content available for both. At the same time, it helps move YouTube off the PC screen alone and on to two more key screens, the phone and the TV set.” And Ethan Kaplan figures this as the iPhone’s killer app. Me, I’m just waiting for all this massaging of the public desire to reach a climax on June 29. I’m starting to get chafed.
“I’m starting to get chafed”. I agree! I’m a minor tech freak, but never an early adapter. The iPhone will have some initial problems to fix (battery life?), so I’ll wait a year or so.
“at the same time, it helps move YouTube off the PC screen alone and on to two more key screens, the phone and the TV set.”
I recently discovered that my Nintendo Wii will play YouTube videos (in the browser) — pretty entertaining. I think the better encoding H.264 will make looking at those videos a better experience, since they look pretty bad and even worse on a large, wide screen. Games *and* videos of people doing weird things. Who knew?
I’m kind of with John. I like YouTube now and then, but it’s not a must-have. At first the iPhone was interesting, but now all the breathless hype is getting a little much. It’s like Tiger Beat for techies. There are other great designers out there; there are greener companies out there; there are definitely companies and individuals that give back to their communities and to the world more than Apple. So let’s see it, see what it can do, but hello — a little perspective would be nice.
Poor Apple. They announce that they’re releasing a phone and the world goes nuts. They even get chastized for “creating” this hype. Doesn’t anybody realize that in each and every Apple story there is always a little paragraph that says, “Apple declined to comment for this story as they do not comment on unreleased products.”
On the other hand, Microsoft has releases millions of pounds of vaporware to the public, yet nobody castigates them for their constant release of corporate flatulence.
The “hype” is created by the Merc and this blog, who have to post something everyday about the iPhone.
This is a case of someone needing to shoot the messenger.
“Me, I’m just waiting for all this massaging of the public desire to reach a climax on June 29. I’m starting to get chafed.”
great analogy of the hype!
YouTube is much more than amusing cats. I’d like to view this tube performance on my iPhone before going in for a job interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exyJ2CSfrHo&mode=related&search=
You no longer have to be in the right place at the right time. A little like two guys in a garage with an idea.
I’ll wait for version 2.0. It does look promising, however. That is, if that keyboard and battery don’t bomb.
But I do believe the YouTube will be the killer app. Tweakers and hipsters will swallow that stuff up whole. I’m 36 years old, so I don’t speak much for my generation. We really don’t get into that viral video stuff too much. But I can see YouTube being played on iPhones all over San Francisco, as the hipsters and tweakers ride around on their fixed gear track bikes with messenger bags slouched over their shoulders and an iPhone strapped to their handlebars, next to the cupholder with the organic Malaysian chai tea.