Ruthie Mcmillian: Twitter for Android hands on: Voyeur mode and a sleeker interface await you

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Twitter for Android hands on: Voyeur mode and a sleeker interface await you

Twitter's official Android app got a pretty hefty update today, which brought some added features along with a complete makeover. All in all, the update is a positive move for Twitter, since it brings the app into a more current style of design while giving Twitter Search a bit more prominence and functionality.

For one, the app now bears a striking resemblance to Twitter for Mac, which makes it one of the most visually polished apps to be found on Android today (sorry folks, I love Android too, but the apps tend to be a bit on the fugly side). Not only is it a surprisingly good look for the app, but the minimalistic style does tend to make things easier on smaller touchscreens. Tablets may be the future, but most of us use phones when it comes to tweeting on the go, after all.

Aside from the new look, the first thing you may notice is that the app's start page now puts functionality ahead of fluffy animated clouds. It's now a bit more like Twitter.com, in that users don't have to log into the service to use its search functionality (immediately dubbed "voyeur mode").

On that note, Twitter Search has also been revamped, making it much quicker to find what you're looking for on the fly. Depending on what you type, intelligent options are made available to make the search a general one, a username search, a search by proximity to your location, or to simply go directly to the profile of an @name (if what you entered is a term that matches a username).

Gallery: Twitter for Android - Updated (Feb. 2011)