Orb Networks a privately held company plans to offer Web videos from YouTube.com on mobile phones with a new software launch this week, well before the wildly popular Web site makes its own cell phone service available. (Note: Recently YouTube announced plans to launch mobile phone services.
More than 400,000 people have already downloaded Orb's previous software program that allows them to view their own digital media stored on a home computer, like photos, videos and music, on a mobile phone or wireless device.
This week, Orb will offer users a program that lets them view, search and create media channels from the Internet and direct it onto cell phones and laptops from sites like YouTube or Google Video.
The technology could put Orb, a company of 35 employees based in Silicon Valley, ahead in a burgeoning market for mobile entertainment. YouTube itself aims to offer a wireless version of its video sharing site next year.
The success and relative ease of rival Sling Media Inc., whose Slingbox set-top device lets users transfer TV shows and movies directly from cable boxes to laptops and cell phones, had initially eclipsed Orb's service.
Orb's new programs can also only be used on advanced smartphones like Motorola's Q model or Nokia's N80 phone, and won't work for a wider audience of users with less sophisticated phones.
