Oh, iPhone, is there anything you can’t do? While the answer is still “yes”, web video addicts will nonetheless be happy to hear that the brains at Apple have included a dedicated YouTube player in their new phone-cum-PDA.

As ever, the interface is simple, intuitive and as pretty as a bag of bikini models. That is, assuming that the following commercial is an accurate representation of the device’s capabilities.

The iPhone, due for release on the twenty-ninth of this month, will even include a YouTube icon on its home screen, meaning that you’ll only ever be one touch away from all the skateboarding dogs, piano-playing cats and videoblogging emos you can take.

What’s more, the iPhone allows you to share your favourite clips with a friend by creating an email with a link to the page automatically pasted in.

Although it’s almost a given that the application will fall short of the video demonstration above in terms of speed and video quality, Steve Jobs still sounds confident in what looks set to be the hottest gadget of 2007:

“iPhone delivers the best YouTube mobile experience by far. Now users can enjoy YouTube wherever they are - on their iPhone, on their Mac or on a widescreen TV in their living room with Apple TV.”

Will people use it, though? While I’ve been sceptical of such technology in the past, Apple has an impeccable track record when it comes to introducing previously unpopular concepts to the masses. 

If the iPhone does, in fact, deliver what it promises, I might just be convinced that streaming video to a mobile device isn’t an idea that works only in theory. If not, it’ll still boast enough attractive features to have folks lining up around the block for Friday’s release.

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