BEIJING, Aug. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Youku.com,
Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), China's leading
internet television company, today launched iKu Mini, a free
desktop client together with the matching mobile client application
enabling users to watch high-quality professional content across
multiple internet-enabled devices -- from desktops to Android
mobile phones and HTPC-connected televisions. With iKu Mini, Youku
aims to expand its viewer base and further its mission of offering
a best-in-class user experience on any networked device.
iKu Mini offers high-quality videos in three categories of
long-form professionally produced content -- Movies, TV Dramas, and
Variety Shows. Users can use iKu Mini's curated lists of
recommended content, which will feature the top 50 videos in each
of the three categories, or browse and search through Youku's vast
library of content. The streamlined interface of iKu Mini was
designed from the outset to be intuitive, attractive, and
unobtrusive at different scales and viewing distances, allowing for
easy viewing on desktop PCs and home theater PCs (HTPCs) connected
to big screen television displays.
Users can further extend iKu Mini using the latest version of
the Youku client for Android, which adds "smart remote" technology
which allows users to control iKu Mini from their phones. Users can
pause, rewind, or fast-forward movies using the new feature, and
can also browse or search for new videos without interrupting the
video they're watching. If a user has to move to another location
when watching a video, they can continue watching the video on
their Android device by simply "swiping" the movie from iKu Mini to
the phone using a two-finger gesture. The new "Memory" feature will
remember the user's position in the video, so that playback on the
phone will resume where it is left off on the user's PC.
iKu Mini is the latest addition to Youku's iKu product family,
which also includes the classic iKu client and the iKu Accelerator.
The iKu products successfully supplement Youku's existing
proprietary content-delivery networks with accountable peer-to-peer
technology, further improve user viewing experience and reduce
bandwidth costs. According to Youku's figures, iKu products have
grown to account for approximately a third of total Youku users.
According to iResearch, Youku had more than 231 million monthly
unique visitors from homes and offices and 52 million from internet
cafes in early 2011.
"Youku's strategy this year is to further improve user
experience across the board," said Youku Chief Technology Officer
Jian Yao. "We're doing this both
through behind-the-scenes upgrades to our systems and through
launching user-facing products like Soku and iKu Mini. As the year
goes on, we'll continue to update and expand our services to better
reflect the ubiquity of online video, and make sure that no matter
where users are or what device they're using, Youku will always be
available for our users when they want it."
About Youku:
Youku.com Inc. is China's
leading Internet television company. Our Internet television
platform enables users to search, view and share high-quality video
content quickly and easily across multiple devices. Youku, which
stands for "what's best and what's cool" in Chinese, is the most
recognized online video brand in China. Youku's American depositary shares,
each representing 18 of our Class A ordinary shares, are traded on
NYSE under the symbol "YOKU."
For more information, please
contact:
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Media Relations:
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Jean Shao
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Director, International Public
Relations
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Youku.com Inc.
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Tel: +86-10-5885-1881
x7128
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Email: shaodan@youku.com
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Investor Relations:
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Ryan Cheung
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Corporate Finance
Director
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Youku.com Inc.
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Tel: +86-10-5885-1881
x6090
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Email: ryan.cheung@youku.com
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SOURCE Youku.com Inc.