Apple adds YouTube clips to iPhone ahead of its release

After launching two major upgrades to its revolutionary iPhone, including an enhanced battery life and upgraded touch-screen surface, Apple Inc. on Wednesday announced that its upcoming Phone, an all-in-one cell phone/iPod/pocket computer, will wirelessly stream videos from YouTube when the iPhone is released on June 29.

To enable video downloading service for iPhone users, the Mac/iPod maker said it has created an application that will let iPhone users wirelessly download and play video clips from online search leader Google Inc.’s San Bruno-based subsidiary, YouTube.

In its release yesterday, Apple said that initially about 10,000 Youtube videos will be available in the higher-quality H.264 format for the iPhone, making it the first mobile phone to use H.264 format.

YouTube has already begun encoding videos in a higher-quality format, the computer maker said in the statement. Google-owned YouTube is expected to have all its videos available for the highly-anticipated iPhone and Apple TV by fall.

"Now users can enjoy YouTube wherever they are - on their iPhone, on their Mac or on a widescreen TV in their living room with Apple TV," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in the statement.

Apple’s move comes merely two days after its announcement that it has upgraded the specifications of its upcoming combination phone. The two upgrades include the enhanced battery life that would boost the iPhone's talk time and the improved touch screen that would be scratches-free, the computer maker said.

According to the Mac maker, improvements to the much-hyped iPhone's battery would give the device up to eight hours of talk time or six hours of Internet use or seven hours of video playback. With the battery life enhancement, playback of songs can reach 24 hours, Apple said in its statement on June 18.

In January, when the gadget was reviewed by the company, Apple has said the rechargeable battery would be capable of five hours of talk time, Internet use or video playback, and 16 hours of music-playing time.

After its deal with YouTube, Apple has become the first company to use YouTube's mobile video format that is appropriate for a mobile phone's smaller screen. Late last month, Apple had announced that its much-publicized Apple TV box, a gizmo that lets people download their favorite iTunes media content from a computer and play them on the television screen, would be able to play videos over wireless home networks.

Apple’s highly-anticipated combination device accumulates three amazing products, a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, maps, and searching, into one small and lightweight handheld device.

This widely anticipated gadget is priced at $499 for 4-gigabyte model and $599 for an 8-gigabyte model, Apple has said previously.

This latest portable sleek gadget, which was touted as "revolutionary" by Steve Jobs in the keynote, has a built-in camera, eight hours of talk time or six hours of Internet use or seven hours of video playback (after recent battery life improvements), and runs Safari Web browser and Apple's Macintosh operating system software. It has Bluetooth, a short-range wireless technology that supports wireless headsets or links to devices like printers, and can connect to the Internet wirelessly via Wi-Fi.

Cingular, the Atlanta-based leading wireless carrier and a unit of AT&T Inc., is Apple’s exclusive U.S. carrier partner for iPhone.

Founded in February 2005 by three former employees of PayPal as a subsidiary of Google Inc., YouTube is the world's most popular online video community which lets users upload, view, and share video clips. It was owned by Mountain View-based online search leader Google Inc. in November for $1.65 billion. It uses the Adobe Flash technology to display video, and currently is handling a monthly traffic of over 70 million users.

YouTube, which is the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience, provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire the worldwide users. It also acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small.

Google is the world's largest provider of Web search which handles more U.S. queries than any other search engine. Larry Page and Sergey Brin have to be credited for co-finding this giant internet search and advertisement engine, Google, which has helped the masses to be in touch with every sphere of life as it is said, 'Everything is now just a click away and within the reach of everybody.'

After revolutionizing the personal computing with its Macintosh line of desktop and notebook computers, and digital media market with its most popular iPod, the Cupertino, California based Apple is ready to revolutionize the mobile market with its multifunctional device that has such potent qualities which make it potential for revolutionizing the handset industry.