Some time ago we first mentioned LazyWormApps YouTube app for Windows Phone after it was recently updated. The YouTube client made a very good first impression and after tinkering with the app for a few days, that impression hasn't faded.
The app comes in two versions, Youtube and Lazytube. LazyWorm's Youtube app is a free, ad-free, app that gives you access to YouTube. LazyTube is a paid app ($.99) that also gives you ad-free access to YouTube as well as HD Streaming and a chameleon live tile that adapts to the phone theme.
Oh, before you make the jump to read more about LazyWormApps Youtube apps, you might be interested that the developer is running a fully featured free trail of LazyTube. Not sure how long this offer will last but you can find it here (opens Zune) at the Marketplace.
App Layout
With very few exceptions, YouTube and LazyTube are identical apps. There are some differences which we'll point out later but for the sake of argument, we'll cover the similarities as if they were one application.
The main pages of LazyTube/YouTube makes use of the Windows Phone 7 metro design by offering you pages for:
- Lazylist: this is a customizable video feed display. In the settings you can choose to view videos from Lazyworm Apps, your YouTube subscriptions, featured vids, most viewed vids, and top rated videos
- Search: It kinda says it all
- Most Viewed: The most viewed videos from YouTube
- Subscriptions: This is where your YouTube subscriptions show up. Naturally, you'll have to log into your Youtube account to populate this and the Favorites Page (login feature is in the top right corner of the app)
- Favorites: If you tag videos as favorites through YouTube directly or the app, here is where they will show up
- Recently Played: For quick reference to videos you've viewed but have yet to tag as favorites
- Featured: YouTube's featured videos for the day will be highlighted here
- Top Rated: Here is a collection of the top rated videos, voted on by viewers.
If some of these pages seem redundant or you simply don't care to bother with them, you can go into the apps' settings and trim them down or re-order their positioning.
LazyTube's settings are rather general in nature with pages to set your Country/Region, Video Quality, organize your pages, and determine what appears on your Lazylist.
Video Pages
Once you find a video that catches your fancy, just tap on the thumbnail to view the videos' pages. Each video will have a Details, Author, and Comments page.
The Details Page will display the videos like/dislike rating, a slider so you can vote to like or dislike it, a listing of any related videos, a selectable description (stays hidden until you tap on "description")of the video and a thumbnail preview of the video itself.
To view the video full screen, simply rotate your Windows Phone horizontally and the video converts to full-screen automatically. Return the phone horizontal and it goes back to the preview size. Videos can be shared through email or sms as well as posted on Facebook or Twitter.
LazyTube vs. YouTube
The key differences in the two YouTube apps is that LazyTube runs $.99, supports HD videos and has a tile the mimics your Windows Phone theme color. We are told by the developers that the HD optimization is still being fine tuned and because of the larger files, it can be a little choppy.
Performance
LazyWormApps has developed two very nice, well laid out, YouTube apps. If appearance was the sole factor, I would easily give both these apps a "10".
Pages loaded smoothly with very little delay as did individual video pages. Every now and then, there would be a slight pause returning from the video pages to the apps' main pages but nothing that would cause frustration.
The HD videos loaded great when on wifi and when on the network, were at the mercy of my signal signal strength. As long as the signal was strong, load times were fine and the choppyness minimal.
Overall Impression
If your in need of a Youtube app, LazyWormApps has a pair of them worth looking into. LazyTube and YouTube presents the videos in an easy to navigate, somewhat customizable, clean fashion.
I liked the layout of the video pages. In separating the details, author information and comments LazyTube/YouTube seemed to make exploring the videos a little more smoother.
Again, the key differences between LazyTube and YouTube is that LazyTube has HD support and a chameleon live tile. YouTube is a free app and can be found here (opens Zune) at the Marketplace. LazyTube has a free trial (for a limited time) with the full version running $.99 and can be found here at the Marketplace.
