Chinese iPhones to Ship with YouKu Instead of YouTube App?

YouKu App IconYouTube, along with social networking sites and numerous others websites, is blocked in China thanks to ‘The Great Firewall’. With that being the case, the iPhone’s YouTube application isn’t much use to its Chinese users, and so the device may soon ship pre-installed with YouKu — the Chinese equivalent of YouTube.

Much like YouTube is to the rest of the world, the YouKu service is China’s leading video streaming website; allowing users to upload content with no duration limit. It has also partnered with over 1,500 license holders, including television stations and film and TV production companies in China, who regularly provide content to the site.

Citing information gathered from a trusted source, TechNode reports that YouKu’s founder, Victor Koo, recently met with Steve Jobs to discuss the possibility of having his service pre-installed on iOS devices sold in China.

While there’s currently no other evidence to back up TechNode’s claims, replacing the YouTube app for Chinese users — who physically can’t get any use out of it — certainly seems like the logical thing for Apple to do.

Either that, or at least allow users who don’t want or need the application to remove it. One of the things on my wish-list for iOS 5 is the ability to remove pre-installed applications that I have no use for.

For example, I opened Apple’s Stocks application when I received my first-generation iPhone – just to see what it was all about. Since then, I’ve never used it. It just sits there, hidden away in a folder, taking up space.

I also don’t see a need for the Contacts application – it’s incredibly easy to access contacts through the Phone app; so why do we need another application for it?

What do you think? Would you like the ability to remove Apple’s pre-installed applications? Let me know in the comments.

[via TNW]

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