Italian operator 3 Italia and Sony ( NYSE: SNE) Ericsson ( NSDQ: ERIC) are introducing a YouTube phone this week--the W595--which will allow users to upload video directly to the online site in three clicks.

Once a user shoots a video, the option appears to "send" it. Users can then click " YouTube", and then click "upload" to get the video online. After the video is on YouTube, the user is then sent a text message with a direct link back to it. There's also a dedicated "soft" button on the handset with the YouTube logo that links directly to the site.

With phones packing an increasing number of complex features, it's no wonder operators and handset manufacturers are trying to give consumers easier ways to actually find and use them, as the IHT.com reports.

According to 3 Italia's own internal research many users aren't aware of all the functions on their phone, and by giving them a direct way--either through a dedicated key or some other easy access point--use of a feature like YouTube increased by 30 percent. 3 has already found this out when they released a Skype phone earlier this year with a direct route to the VoIP service. They are also planning on launching a Facebook phone.

The other way of getting consumers to increase the use of features is to "push" them using software, which as the IHT notes, is useful for operators who don't want to cede both control or valuable territory on phones. Mobile-email software provider Visto launched software last month that automatically sends users services to their cellphones. It collects a number of functions--such as email, social networking, and photo sites and puts them on a single screen. Their software integrates with the operator's network, and along with user information, lets it send, for example, a friend's updated Facebook page to the phone without the user having to specifically access it him/herself. The user can then send a reply through text, email, IM, or a call.

This is obviously good news in terms of boosting overall usage of the mobile internet, and perhaps these types of deals are the mobile web's version of the early tenancy deals on web portals. But by concentrating power on these already popular sites this certainly makes it harder for smaller content players--and especially mobile-only ones--to get traction.