YouTube App Will Come Preloaded on Apple iPhone

YouTube App Will Come Preloaded on Apple iPhone
The iPhone's resume now includes YouTube. Apple announced that its upcoming, much-publicized mobile device will be compatible with videos published to the popular Web site, thanks to an Apple-designed application.

The iPhone will be "the first mobile device" with the capability to display videos encoded with the H.264 standard, according to Apple. YouTube has begun converting its videos to the H.264 format, which is said to provide DVD quality in small file sizes.

Over 10,000 videos from YouTube's inventory will be ready by the time the iPhone launches on June 29. The YouTube application will ship with the iPhone, and can be downloaded now for use on Apple TV.

Wi-Fi or EDGE

The videos will wirelessly stream to the iPhone over either Wi-Fi or EDGE networks. "It will be interesting to see how well the buffering works on EDGE," noted Avi Greengart, an analyst with Current Analysis, because EDGE is slower than other networking options.

This customized capability for YouTube "fits in nicely with Apple's focus on the iPhone as an entertainment device," Greengart said. He also pointed out that it is part of the trend "to mobilize the Web experience," although many Web sites use formats that are not yet supported by mobile browsers.

The video capability of the iPhone might be a key selling point. Greengart said he included himself in the category of people who might purchase the new iPhone simply as a widescreen version of the video iPod. "The picture quality is awesome," he said, calling attention to the display's "wonderful" pixel density.

The June 29 release has been hyped by some enthusiasts as Apple's biggest product launch since the Mac itself, so it's hard to see how the new tie-in with YouTube could make the iPhone any cooler than it is already expected to be.

The IDC Report

But industry watchers are wondering whether the coolness factor and publicity tsunami will actually result in buyers. A report released Tuesday by industry research firm IDC said that "the price of the device itself and the cost of switching carriers may dampen the demand" for the iPhone.

Using a sample of 456 online mobile phone shoppers, the survey found that 60 percent were interested in the new device but only 10 percent plan to buy one "anytime soon." If it were priced under $299, those interested in buying it now would increase to 18 percent.

In the report, IDC analyst Chris Hazelton noted that the iPhone's capabilities and the supporting network are also a set of "potential barriers to widespread adoption." In that light, Apple's decision to create an iPhone app for YouTube videos is obviously an attempt to add to its capabilities.

The IDC report also noted that "Apple loyalists" alone can make the launch a success, but it is unclear whether that will translate into long-term success. Greengart offered a similar take, saying the iPhone will "definitely" be a hit at launch, but that it's too early to predict beyond that.

Greengart also sees baby-boomer, mainstream consumers as a key iPhone target beyond the Apple loyalists, including new converts who own an iPod, and beyond the group that buys "whatever's hot," He noted that mainstream consumers might not be the YouTube crowd, but "they are looking for a simple phone experience that doesn't make them feel stupid."

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