Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include a unique photography app, a solution for reading sheet music on the iPad, an alternative to iBooks, an awesome flying game, a web app alternative for a popular native iPhone application, a new way to view your Instagram feed, and the best way to get comic books onto your iPad.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Paper Camera -- Alli

This is another one of those apps that's available on both Android and iOS. Of course, it has a few more options for iOS right now, but that could change at any time in the continual game of cat and mouse between iOS and Android.

Paper Camera gives you new views of your world. View it in pastels, black and white, or as a cartoon. The filter above is called Comic Boom, and makes everything look hand drawn. There are bunches of filters, and half the fun is just looking at things through the different filters.

One of the really nice things with Paper Camera is that you're not limited to taking new photos through the Paper Camera filters. You can put a filter on an existing photo from your album.

I should mention the big feature that the iOS version has that Android hasn't caught up with yet - you can shoot video through these filters on iOS. Sweet, eh?

$0.99 - Download Now

GoodReader -- Gary Mazo

I find that I use my iPad more and more in ways I would not imagined just a couple of years ago. One of my favorite uses of my iPad is as a repository for all my sheet music.

I am an avid piano player and have amassed literally thousands of pieces of sheet music over the years. Most was in loose-leaf format or in old piano books from when I was younger and lots was through digital music delivery or scans of music I had borrowed from friends.

I needed a way to get it all in one place and the iPad was going to be that place. Enter GoodReader from Good.iWare.

GoodReader is an app that supports PDF files, all Office files, iWord files, web archives and high-resolution images. Files are transferred either via iTunes document transfer or (and this is my favorite way to do it) via wireless transfer. Just touch the wireless transfer button and it finds your computer (if you are on the same Wi-Fi network) and you use the computer as a server. Select a file on your computer and – like magic – it shows up on GoodReader.

Once in the app, I can adjust the sort order, annotate PDF files (which is great for music) change the orientation, layout, jump around, search and more. I just swipe to the left to advance pages - which is so nice in a long piece of music – and can even pinch to zoom in on hard to read sections.

The only downside to GoodReader is that when I go to visit friends with pianos in their homes and they say “too bad we didn’t ask you to bring music with you” I can no longer say “that is too bad” if I have my iPad around!

Are you using GoodReader? Do you have other ways of viewing sheet music on your iPad? Join in the discussion in the forums!

$4.99 - Download Now

Kindle for iPad -- iMuggle

My new iPad has really gotten me more interested in reading on it than any other device has. The iPhone is just too small and I've always had some type of vendetta against eBooks. That's starting to change and I've been enjoying sitting back with my iPad and reading.

The Kindle and iBooks apps are both great for reading. I've found myself using the Kindle app a lot more often for some reason. I think I just prefer the interface. It's easy to use and since it was updated to support the new iPad's retina display, it's better than ever.

I still find myself using iBooks for PDFs but switching over to the Kindle app to read actual books. I like the idea of being able to read Kindle books on multiple devices on more than one platform. If I ever decided to purchase another type of device, I'd most likely be able to use my books on that device too.

If you haven't checked out the Kindle app or what they have available for purchase, I'd highly recommend it.

Free - Download Now

Air Wings -- Bla1ze

Looking for a pretty awesome flying game? Air Wings is where it's at. The concept is to fly around gathering up coins and weaponry to use against other players as it is a multiplayer game. You have multiple planes you can choose from to purchase, it offers in game voice chat with 6 multiplayer levels to play through. In addition to all that, it was recently updated with new graphics for the new iPad as well, so it looks great. Air Wings is available for free in the iTunes store with in-app purchases starting at $.99 -- I make this clear because you'll want to grab at least one additional airplane pack in order to really get into the game.

Free - Download Now

SoundBest Player -- SimonSage

A non-game iOS app caught my eye for a change this week. Rather, it caught my ear. SoundBest Player is a sharp, simple music player that mostly replicates the native music player in both layout and function, with one significant difference: within it is built a custom equalizer. When you first start up the app, it takes you through a short hearing test, and builds a a custom listening profile which changes the way your songs sound. You can save multiple custom profiles, and turn the equalizer off and on very easily. There are also presets for different genres of music, but aside from that, you have access to your usual library of playlists and songs sorted by album, artist, or by individual track. There's full compatibility with playback control from the dock, lock screen, and headphones with in-line hardware.

SoundBest just came out this week, but there are a few alternatives already available that I haven't tried out, like EQ 10 and Equalizer; the latter actually looks pretty good. It's hard to describe the difference between music played through SoundBest versus the vanilla music app, but if you've ever played around with the equalizer in iTunes on your Mac, you'll know what to expect.

$2.99 - Download Now

The YouTube Web App -- JorjLim

As a frequent vlogger, Youtube is my second home; and the built in Youtube app, is quite frankly, rubbish! It lacks simple functionality, like autocomplete, and replying to comments, it doesn’t offer any functionality that a video creator would want, like editing video info or checking channel stats and its really slow!

An alternative is the Youtube web app, and if offers all the functionality that the native app is missing, and so much more.

As a viewer, you get all the standard functionality of ‘liking’ and ‘disliking’, adding to favourites and commenting. The search even has autocomplete! You can also reply to other comments directly, share on more social networks like Facebook and Google+, and you can select to play the video in high quality or low quality regardless if you’re on 3G or Wifi.

As a content creator, you can view, and respond to your mail, edit video details and remove videos on the go.

One of the greatest features that I found in the web app, is the leanback remote. You can connect the iPhone to the youtube leanback experience, and ‘airplay’ your Youtube videos and playlists to your TV or computer without the need for an AppleTV.

I’ve switched totally from the native app to the web app, and I have never looked back!

Gramory -- llofte

I love Instagram, but the native Instagram app isn't exactly awesome. The scrollable timeline is cool and all, but sometimes I'm forced to scroll through a lot of "meh" photos that I'm not particularly interested in. I love Gramory because it lets me see 20 photos at once as thumbnails so that I can pick and choose which ones I want to see bigger. It also has a very nice multi-plane UI.

The other feature that a lot users like is that you can filter photos by trends -- something that the official Instagram app doesn't allow.

Free - Download Now

Comics - Rene Ritchie

Comics was the best way to buy new comic books for iPhone and iPad, and now that the new iPad is out with it's killer Retina display, Comics has updated to take advantage of it. Comics hasn't just updated their own user interface, mind you, they've launched CMX-HD, a new format to best show off the content as well. What's more, since Comics' developer, ComiXology also makes the official Marvel, DC, Image, and other apps, all of them benefit from the new technology. Win. Win. Win. (You get the idea.)

And yeah, this stuff looks fantastic on the new iPad.

FREE - Download

• Marvel version
• DC version

Tell us your pick!

Those were our picks, iMore Nation, so now it's your turn! Tell us your pick of the week below. Give us the name of your favorite app, site, or accessory, and tell us why it made your life more productive, more informed, more entertaining, or just plain more fun. Jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

The new iPad has a much improved camera -- so much improved you might even find it convenient to take quick, fun videos to share with family and friends on YouTube and Facebook.

Luckily, iOS and iPad apps make this really easy to do.

How to share an iPad video on YouTube

iOS for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch has YouTube integration built right in, which makes sharing videos you take on your new iPad easier than ever.

1. Tap on your Photos app and select the video you'd like to share.

1. In the upper right hand corner, click the arrow icon and tap Send to YouTube.

1. If you aren't already signed into YouTube, you'll be asked to sign in.

1. Next, fill in all the information about your video from the title to description, tags, and category. You can also choose whether you want to upload the standard definition or high definition version. Most will probably want to tap HD. It will take longer to upload though, so if you're in a hurry, standard definition will do.

How to share a video on Facebook

To share a video to Facebook you'll need to have the Facebook for iPad app installed first.

Free - Facebook for iPad

Once you've got the free Facebook app installed, you're ready to upload a video (or photo, the process is the same for both).

1. Launch the Facebook app from your iPad homescreen.
2. Sign in to your Facebook account if you haven't already done so.

1. Along the top under the main navigation bar you'll see an icon that says Photo. Tap on it.
2. You'll now have the option to either take a new video or select one from your library.
3. We will choose to select one from our library. You can, of course, choose to take one instead.

1. Navigate through your photos and videos to select the one you'd like to upload and select it.

1. You can now add a description to the photo and change a few settings before posting. You don't have to include the following information if you don't want to. If you don't want to change settings, just tap Post in the upper right hand corner.

1. If you'd like to tag someone in your photo, click the icon with a person on the left and start typing their name. When they pop up, just tap their name.

1. Tap the second icon to add a location to your photo. Tap the location to include it.

1. Tap the little gear in the right bottom corner to adjust what people or lists can view your media.

1. Once you're done setting everything the way you'd like, just tap Post and you're done!

How to edit your videos before uploading

If you want to edit, add titles or transitions, or otherwise make your videos even more fantastic before uploading, you can do that right on your iPad with either Apple's iMovie or Avid Studio.

• iMovie for iPad and iPhone review
• Avid Studio for iPad review

Now you know how to share videos to both Facebook and YouTube so you can get out there and start testing out the new camera in your brand new iPad.

Additional resources:

• All new iPad tips and how-tos
• New iPad help and discussion forums

With our shiny new iMore name comes a shiny new YouTube account -- iMoreVideo -- but Google doesn't let us just bring you over with us from the old one. Unfortunately, to keep enjoying app and accessory reviews, and some of the cool new stuff we'll be bring your way soon, you need to subscribe to us all over again.

To help ease the transition and to thank all our subscribers, current and new, we're offering you a chance to win $200 in iTunes money -- good for music, movies, TV shows, apps, iBooks, and games!

Simply jump on over to our new iMore YouTube Channel and hit subscribe and you're entered! That's it! Nothing could be simpler!

Go, do it! Or I'll sing again!

(And don't forget to enter our huge Facebook giveaway as well! So. Much. Stuff!)

Trying to figure out how to watch high quality YouTube videos when you're on 3G? The iPhone is a great device for watching videos on YouTube. However, if you're on the go, the built-in YouTube app reduces the quality of the video to save data.

One common way of bypassing this quality-reduction is by jailbreaking and using an app like My3G, but what if you're not on #teamjaibreak? Luckily, there's a work around that works on any iPhone, and all it requires is the stock Safari web browser.

1. Open Safari
2. Navigate to m.youtube.com
3. Find the video you want to watch
4. Select "HQ"
5. Tap the thumbnail
6. Watch YouTube in its HQ glory.

Bonus: You can add the web app to your homescreen to replace the default YouTube app by pressing the +, and then "add to homescreen"

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com.

It appears that Syrian authorities are now banning the use of iPhones in their country, seemingly due to activist use of the device to upload violent scenes to web sharing services such as YouTube. While the iPhone as a fast electronic news gathering and viral news tool is well known and well established but this is the first time we've seen only the iPhone banned in a country.

The government has already banned several types of social media use after protests started in January of this past year and over 4,000 have been killed. The authorities believe social media apparently has an impact. One activist has this to say -

“It is enough for any tourist or guest visiting Syria to own an iPhone to be a spy suspect.”

I don't think I'll be visiting Syria with my iPhone anytime soon....

Source: Al Nashara

If you have ever wanted to download YouTube videos directly to your iOS device and haven't found a good solution yet, well we may have the answer. What's more, this tip does not require a jailbroken device. Read on and we will show you how right after the break!

[Thanks to  Colin for sending us this awesome tip, we'll send something special your way!]

Download TagDisk  from the App Store. To test the app, the free “Lite” version will do fine but it is restricted to four video downloads, if you find this app useful, you may want to upgrade to the full version.

• iPhone Lite Version [iTunes link]
• iPad Lite Version [iTunes link]

• Once installed, launch TagDisk. You will be greeted with the “Disk” screen, click on the browser on the bottom toolbar and enter "youtube.com" into the address bar.

• This will take you to the YouTube home page where you can search and find videos as normal. When you have found a video you would like to download, hold your finger on the link and an options menu will appear. Select "Download Link" and the video will start to download to your device.

• You can now start to queue a few videos up and they will download one after another to your device. Download speed is not the fastest here. I was on an 8 Meg ADSL connection but only managed to download at 130KB/Sec.

• When all the downloads are complete, click on the "Disk" icon in the bottom toolbar and go into Documents. Here you will find your downloaded videos. A simple click on one of the videos and it will start to play. No need for any network connection to watch the downloaded videos!

That is all you need to do. I even tested this with Vimeo as well as YouTube and again it works perfectly. This little tip is awesome for me personally as I have awful broadband speeds at home. I can now download a slew of YouTube videos while I am at the office and enjoy them at my leisure without dealing with the stuttering, waiting and dropouts!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

AutoPlay is clever little app that enables you to create playlists from YouTube videos. The iOS stock YouTube app is very nice but it does lack a few killer features. With AutoPlay YouTube becomes a great way to watch continuous videos and even stream them to your Apple TV or HD TV; with the right hardware.

AutoPlay plays continuous YouTube videos on iOS and on TV without tapping the next button on the screen, so you can just sit back and watch the YouTube videos. You can also create an instant playlist in AutoPlay. For example, you can add YouTube videos like X-Men Episode from 1 to 10 to the instant playlist and AutoPlay plays it automatically for you.

Auto start & Auto play

• Auto start video in full screen mode on both iOS and TV.
• Automatically play next video when the video is finished. No effort needed!

• Find videos, add them to the Instant Playlist, and then AutoPlay it.
• You can easily browse YouTube Videos in AutoPlay and add them to the instant playlist with the In-App YouTube browser. For example, you can search videos like "X-Men Episode" on Youtube and then add them for AutoPlay.

• Continuously play YouTube videos from the list of "Most Viewed" , "Top Favorited", "Top Rated", "Most Shared", "Trending Video", and other feeds.

• Just type in some keywords. It will automatically AutoPlay it for you.

• Connect iPad / iPhone 4 to TV with HDMI Cable
• Connect iPad / iPhone 4 to TV with AirPlay (Require Apple TV)

[$2.99 – iTunes link]

While the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad come with built in, Apple made Gmail, Maps, and YouTube native apps, Google also provides Google made Gmail, Maps, and YouTube web apps. Apple native apps gain all the benefits of being part of the OS, including attachments, uploads, contact integration, etc. but Google updates their web apps quickly, gives you labels, stars, and ties them into the rest of your Google info, and keeps the experience the same regardless of the device you're using.

Do you have a preference? Do you prefer Apple's design and the unique iOS look and feel of Mail, Maps, and YouTube, or you prefer the Google vibe and want everything to look like the web regardless of where you're accessing it from?

Apple vs. Google. Native vs. Web.

Vote in the poll and give me the details in the comments!

Apple's latest ad wants you to buy a $500+ tablet computer that runs App Store apps. Apple wants to sell you shiny things to make money.

Google's latest ad wants you to store personal details about your child's life, from birth, on their servers. Google wants your data so they can sell it (aggregated and anonymized, of course) to others to make money.

Taken in that context, Apple's ad might be obnoxious and highly commercial, but Google's is downright creepy.

That's not an Apple fanboy perspective, that's a privacy fanboy perspective. And it's not iPhone vs. Android either. iPhone users use tons of Google services, including Gmail, Maps, and Search, and YouTube built in, and Voice, Latitude, etc. available via apps. Given over a 100 million iOS devices, we're a huge part of Google's user base, and a valuable part. And for the record, I haven't liked some of Apple's recent ads either.

But I do think about how each company makes money and what they have to sell to make that money. Apple makes almost all their money selling hardware products -- selling to you. Google makes almost all their money selling advertising -- selling you. (Or in this case, your child. Seriously.)

I'm not telling anyone to stop using Google, far from it. I'm a huge Google user myself. What I'm saying is this is not really a good ad.

(Note: As Apple ramps up iAds, this'll be a concern for iOS users as well.)

Both videos after the break.

UPDATE: Again, I'm a huge user of Google services -- this is not intended to scare anyone but simply to inform users, so users can make better informed decisions. Convenience and security are always at odds, and choosing the convenience of free cloud services like Google's sacrifices the security of your personal information. I currently find that an acceptable compromise. If you don't have a problem with it either, than good for you. Enjoy. As long as we all know the deal.

New to iPhone and want to learn how to share those videos you have just captured to YouTube? Apple makes it easy to share your videos in a number of ways, including email, MMS, MobileMe, and yes, YouTube. We'll show you how after the break!

Login to YouTube

The first thing you must do is log into YouTube. (If don't have an account, you will need to get set one up at youtube.com).

• Launch YouTube app
• Tap "Favorites" or "More"
• At the top left corner, you'll see "Sign In". Tap it.
• Fill in your username/email address and password and tap "Sign In"

Upload from camera roll

Now that you're logged in, it's time to upload those videos! There are two ways.

• Open photos app
• Tap Camera Roll
• Tap the arrow (action button) at the upper right hand corner
• Tap the video you with to upload (only one)
• Select "Send to YouTube

Upload from video

The other method is similar.

• Open photos app
• Tap Camera Roll
• Tap the video you wish to upload
• Tap the arrow (action button) at the bottom left hand corner
• Select "Send to YouTube"

Both of these methods bring you to the "Publish Video" screen. Enter a title, description, tags and select a category and Standard Definition or HD. Standard definition will be a faster upload, but not look as nice as HD. (HD is only available for iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4, and only if you're on Wi-Fi.)

Once you tap "Publish", your iPhone will begin the upload. You can watch the progress bar or exit the app, the upload will continue in the background.

There you have it! Now you're ready to upload all those videos to YouTube. Let us know how this works for you, and if you have any questions, leave them in comments!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)

iPhone 4 and iPod touch (2010), with iOS 4.1, can now upload HD video directly to YouTube. Previously, under iOS 4.0, iPhone 4 videos would be compressed down to SD when uploaded to YouTube. 4.1 fixes that. Just tap the action button at the bottom right and share HD straight up to YouTube.

The process is as simple as checking the HD option on the YouTube upload screen. Note, however, due to file sizes a Wi-Fi connection is required on iPhone 4. (No 3G HD uploads).

If you've tried it out, let us know how it works for you. For more, check out our complete iOS 4.1 walkthrough.

YouTube is experimenting with a new i-frame based embed style that would server up good ole' Flash video for machines that support it and new fangled HTML5 video for Apple's iOS devices, iPhone and iPad:

An enhancement to our video embed capability is now available through a new embed code style. This new style uses <i-frame> and looks like this:

<iframe type="text/html" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID" frameborder="0"></iframe>

So, somewhere down the road, you'll be able to play the YouTube video you want, in-line on the website you want, on the device you want, Apple and Adobe be damned.

Example after the break.

[YouTube via 9to5Mac]

Google's YouTube has deployed a significant update to their mobile site, m.youtube.com. As is typical with Google's web apps, it works well and looks even better. Here's their hit list:

It's really fast. The user interface incorporates larger, more touch-friendly elements, making it easier to access videos on the go. It incorporates the features and functionality you’ve come to expect from the .com site, like search query suggestions, the options to create playlists, the ability to designate “favorite,” “like” or “unlike” videos directly from your device. As we make improvements to Youtube.com, you’ll see them quickly follow on our mobile site, unlike native apps which are not updated as frequently.

Sure, iPhone has a built-in YouTube app but it gets its updates only a few times a year when iOS gets updated. Theoretically, m.youtube.com will get updates any time YouTube feels like it, hopefully as fast as the main YouTube site. And hey, who doesn't like options?

Video after the break.

9to5mac continues to dive into the iPhone 3.2 Beta 2 SDK and its iPad simulator, this time showing off HTML5 YouTube, file sharing, lock screen media controls, and more.

HTML5 H.264 YouTube video is shown playing right in the iPad Safari browser, just as it does on Mac or Windows. It looks good enough for 9to5mac to wonder if the YouTube app is still needed!

File sharing has an on/off toggle, and TiPb's really excited about this one. The text reads "File sharing allows you to transfer application files to and from your iPad and computer", and there's a (currently empty) header that reads "Applications".

We've already asked for a file repository, sort of like the Camera Roll does now for images, and some apps have gotten in trouble for using the DCIM folder to do just that. And official place to load, share, and save documents and other files would fill a huge functionality gap for iPad and iPhone both.

Lock Screen media controls are interesting, as we saw Apple demonstrate the iPad lock screen woking as a digital photo frame, but it does make sense for watching movies as well.

There are a few more finds, including some new things like built-in Google suggestions in iPad Safari, and some things we've already seen in the iPhone like percentage battery readout and Chinese character handwriting input.

If anyone else is digging around in the simulator and comes across anything more, let us know!

9to5mac is reporting that not only did Apple go an add a new, official YouTube channel -- currently stocked with iPad video and Keynote -- but http://twitter.com/apple has suddenly been vacated...

Could @apple finally be "getting" social networking? Will we one day be able to "friend" Steve Jobs? Do we want to?

Official Apple YouTube iPad video after the break!

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad, he showed off the Apple designed but Google fed Maps application, and the Google-ownd YouTube app. He even named Google during the Maps demo. Much has been made about a falling out between Google and Apple, how Steve Jobs dislikes Eric Schmidt, and how the iPhone would turn to Microsoft's Bing for default search and maps going forward.

if the iPad, running iPhone 3.2, is any indication, nothing much has changed yet. Of course, Eric Schmidt said during the Google conference call that their relationship with Apple was "stable", and Apple COO, Tim Cook said during Apple's call that while they compete in some areas, they partner in others.

So everything quiet on the Apple/Google front, or just quiet before the storm?

Of course, there was no sign of Google Voice integration, but we're sure they'll figure out an up-scaled WebApp in no time...

UPDATE: Yup, Vimeo has gone and pulled the HTML5 trigger as well. Good for them. Good for us. Good for the web.

Last night, Daring Fireball linked to YouTube's new opt-in beta that allows you to get HTML5 video instead of the traditional Flash-wrapped kind.

Why is this important? HTML5 is an open standard, not owned by any company (including Apple), it's much lighter on CPU and battery life than Flash, and doesn't suffer from increasing malware attacks or onerous "cookie"/privacy issues the way Flash does.

And while it may be purely coincidental that this beta comes on the eve of an expected Apple tablet announcement (a device that will surely benefit from better CPU and battery, not to mention security and privacy), it's interesting to remember that the last big change in YouTube -- the move to H.264 -- occurred back with the launch of the original iPhone and its YouTube app.

Now, it should be pointed out that the HTML5 beta is only available for YouTube.com proper right now, and not for videos embedded elsewhere. But here's hoping that's the next step. (And that Firefox decides to spend some of their Google Search revenue on licensing MP4 so we get a, you know, standard standard).

If that happens, if automatic buffering is fixed, and if other companies follow suit (the way Vimeo and even Microsoft SilverLight are already doing specifically for the iPhone), we could be seeing the beginning of a huge shift in online video, one that will crash headlong into Adobe's plans for Flash 10.1.

If, if, if. Fair enough. But most of the time when people complain about the lack of Flash on the iPhone, it's not actually the lack of Flash that bothers them but the fact that a lot of the video they want to see is wrapped up in Flash. If YouTube is an early bellwether that things are changing on that score, and people start getting their videos without Flash, we're guessing the complaints will in large part evaporate.

UPDATE: As The Reptile points out in the comments below, Google owns YouTube and Google is all-in on WebKit as the foundation for the Chrome browser, Chrome OS, and Android browser. They've shown repeatedly they'll push for standards and for the faster adoption of web technologies because it benefits them. Since Apple's Safari is WebKit, it benefits iPhone users as well. That makes this interesting.

Looks like YouTube is following parent-company Google's increasingly awesome mobile optimization initiative, announcing an iPhone-friendly version of the dominant media site. According to their official blog:

Just visit youtube.com from your mobile phone, and you'll be taken to a new website specially designed for your device. You can log into your account, view your favorites, and discover and share new videos quickly and easily with whoever you choose. It's part of our mission to create the best possible YouTube experience for you, whether you use the site on your computer, in your living room, or on the go.

Since Google's own Android, as well as Palm's Pre, use the same Mobile WebKit foundation as the iPhone, YouTube hits three advanced platforms with one code-base.

Nifty.

[Via PreCentral.net]

Dan Moren at Macworld quotes the figures:

In a post on the YouTube blog product manager Dwipal Desai and community manager Mia Quagliarello say that the number of videos uploaded to the sharing site from mobile phones has jumped 400 percent a day since the iPhone 3GS’s release last Friday.

As part of an overall 1700% increase year to date, you don't have to be Oliva Munn and Kevin Peirera (NSFW-L) to know how much the quick and easy shooting and uploading of video to YouTube via the iPhone 3GS will continue to push that. Truth be told, we think Apple just unleashed a TMZ-style hurting on reckless celebrities and unfortunate public fool-of-themselves'ers like the world ain't never seen before.

Little brother indeed.

iFun.de (via MacRumors) has posted up the above video of what's purported to be some of the first iPhone 3G S direct-to-YouTube uploads. How does it look to you?

Lots of smartphones have lots of features, and as Steve Jobs has said in the past -- many people don't even know about them, much less use them.

With the original iPhone, Apple popularized mobile web browsing, and the iPhone 3G too that to previously unseen levels (and AT&T has the data network woes to prove it). The App Store made getting and using mobile applications so ridiculously easy that 50,000 now fill the store and over 1 billion have been downloaded.

So now Apple is set to take on mobile video.

Like previous efforts, mobile video isn't new. Many smartphones have been able to shoot video for many years. Likewise, the Flip Mino and similar pocket video camera have become media darlings. But as with most things Apple, the iPhone 3G S is set to make shooting, editing, and sharing videos not only more convenient, but easier and likely more popular than ever.

Think about it: the video camera will be with you everywhere you have a phone. It will be constantly connected. And it will be integrated with not only MMS and MobileMe, but with the 800lbs gorilla of video -- YouTube.

Hey, dad, here's your son making that soccer goal 5 min ago. Hey, sis, here's Steve Jobs totally ordering a smoothy at Whole Foods! Hey, air force, here's that flying saucer that keeps buzzing my cattle ranch!

Sure, we're still only a few days out from the launch, but at the speed of the interw00ts, that counts as recent history. Here's a bit of nostalgia for you: Armed with my Flip Mino in hand, I took this video while waiting in line at my local Apple Store. I was able to handle the iPhone 3G before launch, played some of the Caveman racing game and asked folks some general questions about the iPhone. 

If you have not witnessed an iPhone launch before, everyone goes crazy when the doors open; watch the video to check it out!

(Note from Dieter: I challenge you to watch this without a giant grin on your face. The enthusiasm in this line matched the joy in mine -- enough to melt even the coldest, iPhone-hating heart)

You know what the iPhone popularized? Not just iCloning. Not just multi-touch. Not just visual voicemail. What I’m talking about is watching video on your mobile device. Youtube was integrated into the iPhone from the beginning and well, most other mobile users were jealous.

But the iPhone has so much more video potential than just Youtube. As popular as Youtube is, there are other video sites out there. Take the webapp PocketVidz for example, they have thousands of videos available for your iPhone, sized and optimized for your viewing pleasure. What is the selection like? Should you try it out?

Read on for the rest of the review!

Design/Interface

After selecting a category the next page shows certain ‘broadcast networks’, if you will. The videos that populate PocketVidz are mostly vodcasts, so if you’re looking for the latest music video, you’re out of luck. You select which vodcast series you wish to watch and tap it for a short description and a listing of the latest episode. There is also a link at the bottom of the screen for all videos from this vodcast.

Usability

Over Wi-Fi, the videos load quick and snappy and the quality of the videos seemed to be on par with what Youtube currently offers (sorry I couldn't screenshot a video). Loading the videos on EDGE was expectedly slow. There is also an option to download the videos as well which means you can step away from the typically iTunes-only videos of the iPhone and watch PocketVidz' videos at your leisure.

The best feature of PocketVidz is the seamless way it loads videos onto your iPhone. Sure the layout of the whole web app is clunky and dated-looking, but when clicking the play button it effortlessly transitions into the video player. Also, unlike Youtube, you can watch videos in portrait mode which is of course smaller, or watch it in landscape (the recommended way).

Overall, the web app is still in its beginning stages. Its easy to use because there isn’t much flair to it and I was watching videos in a matter of seconds over Wi-Fi.

Criticism

PocketVidz claims that the experience is optimized for iPhone users and though the videos are sized correctly, the interface is clearly not. In order to have your application stand out among the rest of the more polished apps available, PocketVidz will certainly need to improve their layout. It functions fine, but man, it doesn't feel like using an iPhone at all.

Final Thoughts

But PocketVidz definitely needs to step it up in design. The program is functional, to be sure, but it just lacks a certain amount of oomph to it. Put it this way, the program looks like it was made for smartphones with bad screen resolution and a trackball. And in the iPhone world of polished and multi-touch, PocketVidz current design layout just doesn’t cut it.

PROS

• Quick load times over WiFi
• Offers Categories and Channels to choose from
• Video launches effortlessly
• Serviceable Alternative to Youtube

CONS

• Poor, ‘rest-of-the-smartphone-world’ design
• Not all videos are available

Final Rating: 3/5

Direct YouTube Link

Part 1 of 2

No bones about it, the Aquapac Waterproof Pro Sports Case (store link, $34.95) isn't a pretty case. It's a pretty ugly case. You don't wear the Aquapac to the beauty pageant though, so this review is less about aesthetics and more about form.

Even still, first impressions are important. Regarding the aesthetics of the case, it took my wife about a nanosecond to mention that I looked like a dork, and I didn't even have it strapped to my arm or thigh, it was just clipped with the fake carabiner to one of the belt loops of my jeans.

The AWPSC is a bit of an odd duck. If you're just using the lanyard or the carabiner and have removed the strap, the side flaps stick out like miniature kid floaties. The side flap and plastic combo isn't really especially comfortable on the skin.

It also has to be said that the strap isn't especially comfortable in the plastic area; you'll probably be happiest wrapping it around clothes (or keeping some cloth handy to act as backing for the plastic.

If you want the velcro strap securely fashioned to your thigh or arm, you'll be best if you attach it to something with a max circumference of about 16". I'm personally more likely to hang it around my knees or shins than I am my thigh, I could definitely use more strap. You can get an extra inch or more of give if you're willing to leave some velcro exposed, the velcro holds pretty well. Still, more strap.

The carabiner and lanyard are fine; the carabiner is a bit too thick to really work with the tiny hole in the plastic. A bit more hole there would have been nice. The lanyard is a decent one; it sports a sliding mechanism to keep your loop anchored around your neck.

Unfazed, I tested on. I took the Aquapac out on a fishing trip recently to see how it would perform (admirably), but the test really left me wanting more. I stuck the Aquapac in the water; the lake I went to isn't deep enough to hit the 30 feet / 10 meter depth limit. Plus, I don't have an underwater camera, so taking it to that depth really doesn't do anyone any good. This is why this review comes in two parts.

I can gripe about comfort and plastic on the skin and not enough strap or whatever. It doesn't really matter; if one way doesn't work for you, there are two more plus whatever else you can think of. What counts is that the iPhone is dry when it's all said and done. And it's dry when it's all said and done. 4/5