YouTube will publicly launch a version of its site for mobile users just as soon as its exclusive contract with Verizon expires, reports Katie Fehrenbacher at GigaOm.
The new site is an experiment to understand user response, and will offer about 800 preselected clips.
YouTube partnered with Verizon Wireless in November of last year and currently offers selected YouTube clips through its Verizon VCast service.
YouTube parent company Google has been focusing more and more on mobile deals in the last year and half. Just today Google launched a new version of its Google mobile homepage. In January, Google partnered with Samsung to provide several apps to Samsung’s mobile phones.
Last year, Google launched mobile AdWords, live traffic data on mobile maps, and a mobile version of Gmail, to name a few projects. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has also stated that Google is interested in providing mobile apps that help carriers sell data plans, and that mobile phones themselves should be free if a user accepts targeted advertising.
Google was recently rumored to be developing its own mobile phone called “Switch,” though executives have said the company is not in the business of building hardware.