The Android platform continues to deliver new applications withTwitter announcing overnight that users can now get access to the social network site on Android phones from the likes of HTC and Motorola.
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Due to the deep hooks, the official app needs a phone running Android 2.1 or later, such as the Motorola Droid, Droid or the Google Nexus One. It will also run in the HTC Hero and Desire phones which get upgraded to Android 2.1 later this month.
Twitter vows to be fair to other developers and notes that Google will open-source the APIs and code used to make the software.
Electronista said “We’ve already tried the app and found that it bucked the trend of featureless official apps; Twitter’s is surprisingly loaded. At a minimum, it’s appreciated to filter messages not just by @ mentions and direct messages but also lists (which are still only sometimes found elsewhere) and retweets. The interface is almost expectedly very simple, but it’s also very clever in how it exposes features: the menu options appear attached to the tweet itself, not unlike Tweetie (which will soon be the official iPhone app for Twitter). It’s fast and attractive compared to its sometimes plain competitors.”
Reviewers claim that the extensive sharing features and contact integration, however, are definitely handy and mean you can almost always share with a service you use or deal with Twitter without having to visit a specific app.
Our only immediate complaint is simply the navigation between different levels. Rather than have all tweets, mentions and other categories available through a single nav bar (again like Tweetie), the Android app forces you to jump back to the home screen to go to a different view. There are a handful of advantages, such as more visible space for updates, but it can be a pain if you regularly reply to or direct message those you follow.
