Twitter recently rolled out its new iPad mobile application. Go to the App Store to get the latest version. Here’s a review of 5 cool features.
1. The application is made for the iPad. The previous application was just the iPhone version.
2. See multiple “views” on one screen. The new app allows you to see snippets of more than one view at a time. This is basically a visual “breadcrumb.” Unfortunately, there are a couple of instances when things get “stuck” and it is difficult to close the active panel.
3. Article/image previews on tweets. Click on an item in your timeline and see the tweet with the article preview below. This saves a click and gives you a good idea if you want to continue and read the article.
With the release of Flipboard, there has been a movement towards visual browsing of tweets. This is a great next step for Twitter.
4. “Faux” attachments on tweets. Twitter still doesn’t allow for attachments but this “Attachments” screen simulates that action. On a new tweet, click on the paper clip and you get access to your iPad photo album. The Twitter app ties in third-party image hosting companies to accomplish the faux attachments.
5. Integration with services. The app also allows users to connect to third-party services like Posterous for image and video posting. Video posting? Apparently the Twitter app is ahead of the iPad development curve and is already listing different video services.
I was surprised by the way the app “knew” how to select my Posterous account since I never use Posterous on the iPad.
Review
The new Twitter for iPad app is a great step in the right direction – it uses the iPad’s space intelligently and it incorporates preview features like rich desktop apps. I tested some of the “gestures” mentioned in the Twitter blog post but they weren’t intuitive so they’ve got some work to do there. All in all, it’s a must download.
Did you see any other great features? Overall, do you like what Twitter has done?