YouTube launches mobile site

Can't live without access to YouTube's collection of hilarious user-generated content, but have Real World commitments that drag you away from your desk? Fear not; the video-streaming giant has now launched a version especially for use on mobile phones.

Accessible via http://m.youtube.com, the site currently only supports certain 3G handsets that have the ability to stream .3GP video content Which means it's really nothing more than the standard YouTube site with a smaller interface and RTSP instead of Flash for the video streaming.

The company has announced that a Java-based applet which will allow more basic phones to stream their little hearts out is under development, though they haven't yet offered a timescale on when such a thing might be released.

The first time you access the site you'll receive a sternly worded warning that “YouTube Mobile is a data intensive application”, and the suggestion that “you upgrade to an unlimited data plan with your mobile service provider to avoid additional charges.” Let's face it, with the per-kilobyte charging of some non-data-specific tariffs it's good advice.

If you're on an all-you-can-eat data plan and have a phone capable of running RTSP streams in the browser it's certainly worth checking out, but I can't help but feel that it's destined to be no more than a passing phase. After all, how often are you out and about and think to yourself “if only I had access to a video of a dog eating balloons right now”?

Do you think it's a brave new world of always-connected video streamery, or is it just another step in YouTube's long, long road to profitability? Share your thoughts over in the forums and share your favourite viral videos.