Filed under: Google, web 2.0, Android
Android First-Look: YouTube
by Christina Warren Oct 23rd 2008
YouTube was undoubtedly one of the Big G's best acquisitions. For good or for bad, it's addictive. While watching short, low resolution video clips is hardly an activity you want to do from your HDTV (or even really large computer monitor), it's actually a nice thing to do on a smartphone, especially if you are in a long line.
We can thank the iPhone for saying "no" to Flash and getting YouTube to provide .h264 videos for its YouTube app because Android doesn't have to mess with Flash either (though Silverlight is a possibility). The YouTube implementaton is very similar to the implementation on the iPhone.
The Android version, unsurprisingly, has a bit more pizzazz. When you load the app, in addition to a listing of videos like on the iPhone, there is a top carousel of different categories featuring videos and you can then click on each category to get more previews. It's a nice touch.
Playback is nearly identical to the experience on the iPhone. The screen automatically switches to landscape mode and playback starts. If the connection is weakened or cut, the video stops and ports you back to the main page. You can advance through the video by dragging your finger across the screen or using the little trackball to control the cursor.
As I covered yesterday, if you see a YouTube clip embedded in another site or in a Google News piece, you are given the option to load the video in the browesr or in the YouTube app. Because Flash is absent, you ned to select "open in YouTube."
We can thank the iPhone for saying "no" to Flash and getting YouTube to provide .h264 videos for its YouTube app because Android doesn't have to mess with Flash either (though Silverlight is a possibility). The YouTube implementaton is very similar to the implementation on the iPhone.
The Android version, unsurprisingly, has a bit more pizzazz. When you load the app, in addition to a listing of videos like on the iPhone, there is a top carousel of different categories featuring videos and you can then click on each category to get more previews. It's a nice touch.
Playback is nearly identical to the experience on the iPhone. The screen automatically switches to landscape mode and playback starts. If the connection is weakened or cut, the video stops and ports you back to the main page. You can advance through the video by dragging your finger across the screen or using the little trackball to control the cursor.
As I covered yesterday, if you see a YouTube clip embedded in another site or in a Google News piece, you are given the option to load the video in the browesr or in the YouTube app. Because Flash is absent, you ned to select "open in YouTube."
With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet.
They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...
