YouTube Launches Leanback and the Mobile Site gets a HTML5 Revamp!

Today YouTube has announced the launch of LeanBack, a TV-like viewing experience. Go to LeanBack and a full-screen feed, personalized for each viewer, begins playing. Using your enter and direction keys you can navigate the feed. No need for the mouse or for entering URLs.

Kuan Yong, Senior Product Manager for YouTube, explained how the feed is created.

“This feed is based on your YouTube settings and preferences, including content from your subscriptions and videos your friends are sharing on Facebook (assuming you’ve connected your YouTube account to your Facebook account).”

Two data sources – your YouTube info and your Facebook sharing – seem insufficient to get at an approximation of something as complex as a person’s taste. Here’s hoping they add in additional sources, such as Twitter accounts and feed readers.

Meanwhile on the handheld front, YouTube’s also pushed live a new mobile site. New touted features include a more touch-friendly UI, further incorporation of the main site’s elements such as favorites and ratings, and a generally speedier existence. YouTube also promises to work at bringing update parity across its desktop and portable kin, “unlike native apps which are not updated as frequently” (come on, tell us how you really feel, guys). Since the TV season is in a bit of a lull anyway, might as well grab your iPhone, Android device, HTPC remote, laptop, or whatever other screen you have and play catchup with your viral videos.