Twitter reveals app for Android mobile phones

Official Twitter client will only be applicable to phones running Android 2.1
and above.

Twitter has revealed a client for Android mobile phones that it developed with Google.

The application, which was first promised by Twitter at its first annual conference Chirp a couple of weeks ago, will only be applicable to phones running Android 2.1 and above, such as the Droid, Desire, Incredible and Nexus One.

Head of Twitter’s mobile user experience design team, Leland Rechis, described the application in the firm’s official blog as easy to use, and said it will offer users deep integration with Android mobile phones.

“Sharing any link or photo is super simple too – just look for the share button in your favourite application and choose Twitter,” he said.

“Reading tweets is easy in a bunch of places on your phone. Quickly access your timeline with the home screen widget, view a tweet location on a map, and see your friend’s latest tweet in your phonebook, GoogleTalk list or any application that uses Android’s QuickContact bar.”

Rechis joined Twitter last year after working on Android user experience design at Google for four years, according to his LinkedIn profile details.

Rechis said the Google Android team will open source the code used in the application in the near future.

“We look forward to the amazing experiences developers will create using Twitter APIs in their upcoming Android apps,” he said.

Twitter has recently started producing its own applications for mobile phones, rather than relying on third-party developers to do the work. For example, Twitter launched an official application for the BlackBerry under a month ago. The company has also bought Tweetie, the most popular Twitter client for the iPhone.

The strategy coincides with statements made by Twitter investor Fred Wilson, principal of Union Square Ventures, who said third-party developers focused on the Twitter platform should consider more radical innovation and the creation of "killer apps", rather than filling holes in the Twitter product.