Best YouTube app released for Android

Google has released the latest version of its YouTube app for the Android Market, which it says is the best YouTube mobile app to date.

“The latest YouTube app, version 2.1, is available on the Android Market, so YouTube app updates aren’t tied to Android OS releases anymore,” said YouTube Mobile Product Manager, Andrey Doronichev. “The app was rebuilt from the ground up to mirror the YouTube desktop experience and is our fastest, most intuitive YouTube mobile app to date.”

The new app only works on devices running Android 2.2. To install it, search for 'YouTube' in Android Market.

It also comes pre-installed on many upcoming Android 2.3 devices, such as the Nexus S.

Here’s what’s new:

• In-page playback: you can read the video description, browse related, rate or flag videos without having to interrupt video playback.
• Posting comments: you can post a comment while the video is playing, just like on the desktop website.
• Subscription updates: we've made it easier to access new videos from your subscriptions. If you are signed into your account, you will see all your subscription updates right on the home screen of the app.
• New full-screen UI: To enter full-screen mode simply rotate the phone. The new player controls make it easier to seek within the video, and you can pause or resume the playback by just tapping on the screen.
• Following our famous mantra 'launch early, iterate often', we first released an early version of the unbundled app a few of weeks ago, collected user feedback, and addressed the key user requests in version 2.1.

Look out for the January issue of NetGuide (on sale December 23rd) which features a massive section dedicated to getting the best out of YouTube. Subscribe here.