When Showyou first launched last April, we noted that it was sort of like a Flipboard for video content. A new update out today kicks it up a notch by making things more visually appealing while adding more content and making it easier to find.
Version 2.0 of Showyou features a redesigned iPad UI that is really fantastic looking. The grid-like look existed before, but now it’s smoother and easier to manipulate. It feels like the way video browsing should be done on a tablet. Most recent videos are in the upper left and you move over and down to move through time.
The grid concept remains key. And the new version expands upon it adding content from new, large publishers such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, TED, BBC, and others. Each of these publishers now has their own grid that you can subscribe to with one click. And you can hop between grids to focus on specific content.
You can also now search for videos on Showyou. And things you search for can be saved and made into their own grids. Search is also nice because it’s socially-infused. Showyou isn’t scanning all of YouTube, it’s just returning results upon what people are sharing on the big social networks. There are some 12 million videos available to search right now, Showyou says.
But my favorite aspect of the app has to be the integration with AirPlay, Apple’s over-the-air streaming video technology. If you have an Apple TV hooked up to you TV, you can browse for videos on Showyou and quickly push them to be watched on your big screen. It really turns your iPad into a big visual, social remote. It’s something Showyou had in mind when they started work on the app, CEO Mark Hall says.
“This is an incredibly addictive environment to watch videos,” Hall says, noting that the reverse chronological way is not ideal for a tablet. “It’s a tragedy to present it this way,” he says.
You can find Showyou 2.0 in the App Store here.