YouTube Updates Windows Mobile, Symbian App

by Jennifer Johnson — Monday, March 23, 2009, 02:18 PM EDT

If you’re looking for a better way to enjoy YouTube videos on your mobile phone, you’ll be excited to know YouTube has revamped the Windows Mobile and Symbian versions of its mobile application. The company claims the new app is 90% faster at loading videos. In addition to faster video loads, the application promises faster start-up and faster searching. Wi-Fi streaming has also been improved. For quick access to the application, you can add an icon to your phone’s home screen.

The application can determine in advance what type of connection a user has (Wi-Fi, EVDO, EDGE, etc) and can optimize the video stream by selecting the highest-quality video available depending on your connection speed and mobile device. Thanks to an improved buffer, your videos will play even in weak coverage areas.

Windows Mobile smartphones from the likes of HTC, Palm, Samsung, Motorola, and LG are widely available in the U.S. Symbian also has a presence in the U.S., though this OS doesn’t enjoy the same market share in the States as it does overseas.

The YouTube application is still in beta mode. Users of most Windows Mobile and Nokia S60 3rd edition (Feature Pack 1 and Feature Pack 2) devices can navigate to m.youtube.com from their phones to get the new YouTube application. YouTube's official list of Nokia-compatible devices includes about 30 individual models. For compatible S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1 & 2 phones, check out this Nokia device matrix. Some users have reported unrecognized device messages that prevent the application from downloading. To resolve the issue, other users have recommended changing the language.

For a better idea of how the application works, check out the video below.

Tags: Google, YouTube, mobile applications

Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer grew up around technology. From an early age, she was curious about all things related to computers. As a child, Jennifer remembers spending nights with her dad programming in BASIC and taking apart hard drives to see what was inside. In high school, she wrote her senior term paper on her experiences with building custom computers.

Jennifer graduated from the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. After college, she began writing full-time for various PC and technology magazines. Later, she transitioned to the Web. In these roles, Jennifer has covered a variety of topics including laptops, desktops, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and various consumer electronics devices. When she's not playing with or writing about the latest gadget, Jennifer loves to spend time with her family, capture memories with her camera, and scrapbook.

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