Tech n Gadgets Blog: Twitter for Android 2.0 brings fixes and tweaks

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Twitter for Android 2.0 brings fixes and tweaks

Hands-on with the new improved Twitter

The Twitter for Android app has just been updated to version 2.0 and we’ve been having a play with it.

Ushered in is a new cleaner design, giving you simplified access to the different features without having to return to the central homescreen. The icon has also changed from the old “t” to the Twitter bird logo, which looks much nicer in your menu.

The biggest change is a run of icons across the top of your viewing window giving you access to your timeline, mentions, direct messages and favourites, lists and so on.?

Above this you’ll find search and compose, pretty much as they were before. The interface is now cleaner, with a squarer design and moving away from the rounded corners of the previous version. We like it: it looks more sophisticated.

Composing a message still gives you the same options as before, letting you attach a photo from the gallery or go direct to the camera, and you can add people for @mentions from the list.

A new addition is an autocomplete for people, so once you’ve typed “@” a drop down list will start to offer up names of those you follow, making it much easier to find people. The same option appears when you compose a direct message, but you don’t need the @.?

Comparing it the previous version of Twitter for Android on a different device, it also seems that it updates faster (using the pull-down refresh option). We also put it alongside the iOS version of Twitter and found very little time difference in updates.

Image previewing is also better handled, with twitpics appearing in a size worth seeing, rather than a thumbnail, but we’ve yet to see if this applies to all image hosting services. (Pictured below, Twitter 2.0 on the Samsung Galaxy S, left, and Twitter 1.x on the LG Optimus 2X, right.)

Search is now universal, so you type in a search and get the option of people, places, and tweets.

The final new feature that will catch the eye of all those who upgrade is the option to scan your contacts to find people you know on Twitter. It looks like it’s a one-time effort, but it did hook us up with a few new tweeps!

The upgrade is free for Android devices on v2.1 or higher, you can download it here. What better way to follow the unfolding Nokia/Microsoft stories?

Read