LG’s recent Google phone (the KU580) received a small amount of buzz – perhaps proportional to the area in which it was launched. Now there’s word that a YouTube phone is on the way, yet it may be a while before the device reaches American shores.
“LG Electronics will unveil a mobile handset that fully supports the YouTube service for the first time in Europe in the second half of this year,” according to a report from the AFP. When it shows up, “the proposed model will enable users to upload, view and share video clips or user-created content (UCC) online freely without using computers.”
That sounds pretty interesting, although details about pricing or any other features remain unknown. I also feel obliged point out that the Google phone failed to “wow” anyone (it was pretty much a modified Chocolate).
As for the not-in-America release of the YouTube phone, Pocket-lint.co.uk offers one possible explanation: it “should beat Apple’s YouTube enabled iPhone to the European market.” If that’s LG’s primary motive, it gives us an idea of the level on which the new product is intended to compete. And as Google likes to point out, competition is good for the consumer.
GoMo News gives us an idea of how content owners may also benefit: “Perhaps to get the real point here you need to look from the other end of the binoculars, rather than the users’ point of view, and remember that 60 – 70% of the video clips that appear there are professionally produced. This is a great way of opening up a new distribution channel aka another revenue stream.”
