Sad news today folks: one of the few apps we've ever awarded a perfect score to won't be available for much longer. The popular and incredible MetroTube is ceasing development and will discontinue its availability in Marketplace starting January 1, 2012. In a letter to their customers (PDF), LazyWorm Application Ltd. explained exactly why they felt the need to end distribution of the app:
YouTube’s current API does not have any documented methods for obtaining high quality video content. We have been using a workaround to obtain this content and it has recently come to our attention that this may not be sustainable in the long term, hence our decision to stop distributing the apps.
The apps should remain functional for those who have already installed them however we will be unable to push out any further updates. Of course, you can also continue accessing YouTube videos directly through your web browser.
So to be clear, if you already have MetroTube it will still work. It just won't be available to download from the Marketplace after New Years day, so there will be zero new updates and more importantly zero new users to experience this amazing app. Down the road it seems that HQ streaming of videos will also break, so be prepared for that as well. (Which suggests that SuperTube and EasyTube may suffer the same fate.)
While we don't want to paint MetroTube as a martyr, the fact that developers have to make use of unreliable loopholes and backdoors into APIs just to give users the experience they expect from YouTube is in our opinion inexcusable. Google should step up and release its own client or at the very least allow Microsoft to publish a reliable first party app, otherwise they're simply forfeiting an audience for no good reason.
Moving past that small rant, if you haven't downloaded MetroTube or LazyWorm's free YouTube app, you can do so by clicking on either of the links below. You have less than two weeks so get it while you can.
 | MetroTube LazyWorm Applications Ltd. $0.99 + Trial Version 3.0 Web Marketplace |
 | YouTube LazyWorm Applications Ltd. FREE Version 2.6 Web Marketplace |
