YouTube Remixer and YouTube Mobile go live

Google-owned YouTube has silently released several new features, including an online video editing tool and a mobile version of its popular video-sharing site for portable devices such as cell phones.

YouTube Remixer is a Web-based editing tool based on Adobe Premiere Express that allows users to edit and mix their videos from within YouTube itself. Other features include adding text, audio, graphics, photos, effects, and transitions. It is a basic low-end video editing tool aimed mostly at casual video uploaders.

Along with Remixer the company launched YouTube Mobile (http://m.youtube.com), a stripped-down version of YouTube that offers a small selection of videos streamed in 3gp file format. Video resolution is downscaled and optimized for mobile consumption; however, the company warns users to check their data plans before viewing the clips to avoid overcharges. YouTube intends to offer the full video catalog eventually, but for the time being, it is a limited mobile web site experiment to see how well the service is received.