• Computerworld et al., Thursday, July 8, 2010 12:37 PM

Further positioning itself as a TV alternative, YouTube has launched a new user interface option named "Leanback," with which users can more easily browse content at a distance.

"The design has sparked speculation that it is intended to complement the first generation of Google TV devices," writes Computerworld. "The new interface should help YouTube overcome the so-called '10 foot' problem, where interfaces which are highly effective at short distances become unusable with a remote over longer distances."

"The world's biggest video site wants to dominate every screen where content can be viewed and created," suggests the BBC. "With Leanback, YouTube is now vying for the attention of the user in the living room."

"This is all part of YouTube's goal to boost engagement -- the site obviously sees a huge volume of uploads and traffic, but it gets around 15 minutes of viewing time a day per user," writes TechCrunch. "That contrasts with the five hours of television that people watch on average each day."

"Leanback is really supposed to help Google accomplish two connected tasks," writes MediaMemo. "Keep users on the site for longer stretches, and convince them that the site is something they'd like to look at on their TV."

Adds eWeek: "Google evidently hopes that consumers will see its offering as the best of both worlds -- the versatility of Web search and applications, combined with the mental comfort food of traditional television, and all of it on the same screen."

Rival services offered by Boxee and Windows Media Center already offer a simplified menu navigation system coupled with large icons and typography for eailier distance viewing. Going a step further than other media players designed for TV screens, the new YouTube feature delivers content based on viewer preferences, video viewing history, and even friend connections via Facebook integration.

Meanwhile, "It looks like YouTube has some bigger plans for Leanback in store," notes NewTeeVee. "The Leanback team admitted that it was looking at other distribution opportunities, with one scenario of implementing the UI on all kinds of different platforms that are already in the living rooms of consumers. In other words: Leanback could eventually become YouTube's default UI for connected devices, ranging from DVRs to Blu-ray players to TVs with YouTube support to dedicated set-top boxes like the ones Google TV is going to run on."

Read the whole story at Computerworld et al. »