The updates for Microsoft’s latest mobile OS keep on coming and this one is very welcome indeed. Lazyworm have just released an update to their very popular Metrotube app for watching YouTube videos, joining the other new or updated Windows Phone 8 Apps. The update brings the release to version 4.0.
A long-time favourite on Windows Phone, the app makes great use of the Metro UI, taking full advantage of the new large tiles and introduces the ability to preload videos for later viewing. Read on past the break to find out more.
The app has always been a strong contender and that’s down to the really great attention to detail on the user interface and experience. With this version you’ll be able to “pre-load” videos onto your phone for later playback. All you’ll need to do is find the video you want then click on the preload button and once done you can view offline. You can even pin a tile to your home screen in three different sizes for quick access to content you have preloaded.
In addition, fast-resume is also supported allowing you to quickly pop back into the app without having to reload it.
Google have recently stated they have no plans to create any new apps for Windows Phone 8 or even Windows 8 so that will mean that a YouTube is highly unlikely. But all is not lost, MetroTube provides a powerful and feature rich alternative to an official app. To be honest, we don’t think an official one could be this full featured and look and work this well. From the press release:
“We’ve seen great success with Metrotube so far, since launch we’ve had over 370,000 downloads and are now averaging between 2-3 thousand downloads a day.” says Atta Elayyan, Managing Director at Lazyworm Applications. “It seems that Google still has no immediate plans to build out Windows apps so we’ll continue trying to fill that void. Today we’re excited to be releasing Metrotube for Windows Phone 8 and aim to have a Windows 8 version out sometime early next year.”
That app is available from the marketplace now and will cost US $0.99c / UK £0.79p and offer a free unlimited ad-free trial. Lazyworm have been strong supporters of Windows Phone and we’re really glad to see this app finally appear, it really shows the way for how things can be done with the new platform.
You can download MetroTube version 4.0 from the Windows Phone Store here or grab it with the QR code below. Windows Phone 8 devices only.
