Joost finally discovers the browser

When Joost hit the market not so long ago it was heralded as the cutting edge for video content delivery. Unfortunately, there were two big shortcomings: lack of content and the Joost application with an ultra bizzaro UI that probably confused and discouraged most who tired it.  The biggest problem with the proprietary Joost player is that it’s an unfamiliar, resource hungry piece of crapware - just like so many proprietary video apps that came before it and failed.

It seems that the Joost team has finally seen the light. If you want to find an online audience, you need to interface with them via their already familiar browser. Armed with this “discovery”, Joost is shifting to a browser plugin. While still not as elegant as Hulu that requires no proprietary plugin, it’s a huge improvement.  Somehow I think the content issue is a problem that will be much more difficult for Joost to solve.

The company is going to a browser-only strategy, in which much of its content is going to be available through a browser-based player. Joost, I am told, will release a small plug-in that would embed itself in the browser and allow you to grab files using the P2P technologies. The web client is likely to have better quality than average video sites. (Update: Liz has an indepth review of the upcoming service along with screenshots.)

Joost had launched its desktop client with much fanfare but for a panoply of reasons, such as bandwidth limitations, software issues and lack of content, the company lost traction and usage of its client dropped. Joost isn’t the only startup to give up backing solely the client. Veoh and Jaman adopted a browser-and-client strategy, which has helped boost their audience. (GigaOm)