Thursday, June 25, 2009, 02:00 pm

iPhone 3GS spurs 400% increase in mobile video uploads to YouTube

By Slash Lane

If there was any doubt that that the video recording and upload capabilities of Apple's new iPhone 3GS would signal a new chapter in mobile video sharing, the first statistics quantifying its impact are in, and they're impressive.

Google said Thursday that in the first five days since the new Apple handset hit the market, its YouTube video sharing website saw a 400% increase in the number of video uploads coming from mobile handsets. This compares to 1700% percent growth in YouTube uploads in general over the past six months.

The iPhone 3GS is the first iPhone to support video capture and allows users to easily trim and then upload their recordings to YouTube or Apple's MobileMe video sharing websites. Uploads are supported over both WiFi and 3G wireless connections.

Although the fourfold increase in mobile uploads to YouTube may stem early adopters familiarizing themselves with their new handsets, the iPhone 3GS remains in its infancy, having sold roughly a million units in its first week.

Analysts like Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster forecast the company to sell over 16 million more iPhones during the duration of the current calendar year, the largest majority of which are expected to be 3GS models.

Additionally, persistent rumors have Apple equipping its next-generation iPods with similar camera capabilities, suggesting the growth witnessed by YouTube in mobile video usage over the past several days is only the tip of the iceberg.