The new Leanback version is YouTube’s answer to hang out along Google TV. By emphasizing the experience of browsing YouTube on a TV, the YouTube team has designed a new layout which restricts interaction with the new interface to solely base on keyboard and remote control. Yes you heard it right; Leanback blocks your clicking activities. Videos now cover the whole browser, and will play the HD version whenever possible. The experience is really new, though still abit slippery. So far not all videos can be played on Leanback version, and the experience is still dodgy. Browsing other video while playing the present, will sometimes cancels out the present video and load up the new video without me hitting ENTER.

Meanwhile on the mobile version, some new elements have been pushed, to resemble the main site even more. Things like ‘favorite’ and ‘ratings’ have been added, besides a generally speedier browsing experience. The user interface has also been slightly tweaked to be more touch-friendly for advance touchscreen smartphones. This is mainly to push Google’s Android OS of kush.

This is the search menu. Access it by moving your cursor arrow up.

Here’s the playback interface. Very simple actually, and it works. Gone are the ‘click-n-drag’ experience of the mosue.

By pressing the down arrow at the cursor key, you’ll get to the ‘Category’ section. There’s quite a number of categories.

Below are two promotional videos of the Leanback and the Mobile YouTube.

[YouTube Leanback Site]

[YouTube Mobile]