Score:
73%
Led by the consummate CuteTube, there's no shortage of YouTube clients of various kinds on Symbian, though changes at Google's end have meant that not all still work properly. YouTube Downloader HD+ is one I've had installed for a while and which just got itself a big compatibility update, which means that it's time to review it properly.
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As if there wasn't enough confusion over the names of the various YouTube clients for Symbian, this one has a long enough name that it has to be shortened in-app and in other places, just to get it to fit - can I urge developers to think of a unique name for their app or game that will display everywhere it needs to? Oh, and not including a special character like "+" would help too....
Name aside, YouTube Downloader HD+ largely does what it claims to do, albeit with little style in some places and garish colour in others. And, for a pound, is decent enough value. I suppose I should point out, right at the start, that downloading YouTube videos is frowned upon by Google, but hey, everyone does it these days - it's the modern equivalent of cassette taping from the radio, perhaps?
The application has been receiving regular updates, at least some of which will be to maintain compatibility with changes at Google's (YouTube's) end, though others have given it something of a facelift - the initial interface is at least simple and striking, with vivid colours and a spacey background.
Settings is the obvious place to start, with the choice to download videos in 360p and 720p only - although if a video is only available in 240p (i.e. lower resolution) then you'll get that instead. And it should be emphasised that, just as much as with CuteTube, YouTube Downloader HD+ can be used to browse (i.e. stream) videos too - you don't have to download them every time!
As shown above, right, there's a decent choice of backdrops for the main menu, though it's a slightly trivial setting in that it's only used for this one screen and not behind any other panes in the application.
Browsing for videos through the main populated lists is straightforward and I liked the way so much information was packed into each listing element - all that was missing was an indication as to the quality/resolution of each. You can also browse by drilling down into the various YouTube categories, with some bright coloration again from the application.
Or, of course, you can search for stuff, with handy check boxes to determine the type of search (CuteTube confuses here by forcing you into Settings to change this) - again I missed indications of quality though - the second match here turned out to be in 240p, i.e. QVGA!
The details page for each YouTube video is (again) colourful, but well designed. You can add it to your favourites (if signed in), give it the thumbs up (or down), switch to the comments view and participate in the discussion, and so on. Or just tap to watch (stream) the video. The icon bottom right is the critical one if you're interested in downloading the video for offline watching later.
The heavy use of white in the listings rankles a little in these days of dark themed apps to save power on AMOLED screens, but in fairness you'll not be on the white screens for long. The primary colours behind the various detail views are quirky but do grow on you.
The sharing buttons work to share the YouTube URL directly via SMS or email, or via the mobile Twitter and Facebook web sites - there's no direct handling of these social services.
You can keep an eye on downloads, of course. Though, once complete, they simply disappear and there's no record of what you've just downloaded or how to play it. You have to switch out to the Symbian Videos application and track down the file in its listings, which can be laborious if you have lots of downloaded content. Note in the above download that I successfully managed to grab the 720p version, so all is well on that front.
Wonderfully quirkily, the FAQ about having trouble streaming video on Symbian (not something I've experienced for a while, but hey) is presented in attractive graphical fashion. Very skeumorphic, very unfashionable, but I like it! Just swipe to advance to the next 'step', etc.
Signing into YouTube to access our own channel was a little worrying, with the above message from YouTube - 'an anonymous application' etc. The developer needs to improve this aspect by registering the app with Google if he wants to allay user fears about privacy and permissions - after all, a user's Google/Gmail account is usually key to discovering just about everything about their life these days!
New videos from your YouTube subscriptions are presented in the usual form, shown above right, sorted by upload date, or you can drill down into your subscribed channels if you prefer.
Given the existence of CuteTube, would I recommend YouTube Downloader HD+? Only if the extra couple of pounds (or Euros, etc.) was critical. CuteTube is simply more polished at every single turn. With attention to detail in terms of permissions and playback of downloaded videos, this could yet make a good budget alternative - it's certainly a colourful one!
You can buy YouTube Downloader HD+ for £1 here in the Nokia Store.
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at
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