Twitter unveils new apps for iPhone and Android

Updates include more expanded Tweets, better auto-searching and more push notifications

Twitter has been on a tear the last few months, rolling out a bunch of new apps and tools to entice more people to come to its website. Now they are doing the same thing for its smartphone apps.

Twitter announced updates to its app for iPhone and Android on Tuesday, stressing easier access and quicker information “to bring you closer to everything you care about.”

Part of the update includes new partners to its expanded Tweets, which it unveiled last month. MLB, Kickstarter and C-SPAN are among the new sites joining previous partners such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and TIME, with being able to provide content previews, images and video on Twitter.

“When you tap a Tweet linking to a Kickstarter project, for example, you can play its video directly from the Tweet details view in your app. You can also read article summaries when you tap Tweets linking to sources like The Atlantic or play videos or view images when you expand Tweets linking to websites like Etsy and Vimeo,” Sung Hu Kim, Product Manager for mobile, said.

There have also been "major improvements" in Twitter’s search auto-complete, which now will provide users with more suggestions when they attempt to search for names on its app, as well as more push notifications from people that they are following, as well as other accounts, including local news channels and emergency feeds to stay on top of what is happening in the local area.

In addition, Twitter now allows users to “experience events” on its iPhone with special hashtags such as #NASCAR, which will allow users to get special content, such as Tweets from drivers and photos.

Recently, Twitter has been making a big push toward getting people onto its website, launching new tools, like expanded Tweets and Twitter Cards, which allow users to attach "cards" to its tweets that will display content such as headlines, photos, and articles from around the web.

Late last month, LinkedIn, who has partnered with Twitter in 2009 to display Tweets on LinkedIn profiles, made the announcement that Twitter was no longer allowing them to do so.

Twitter simply said they would be “providing the core Twitter consumption experience through a consistent set of products and tools.”

“We’re building tools for publishers and investing more and more in our own apps to ensure that you have a great experience everywhere you experience Twitter, no matter what device you’re using,” Michael Sippey, Director of Consumer Products at Twitter, wrote.

By blocking its longtime partner from republishing its Tweets, Twitter was saying that it wants users coming to its site, and does not want other parties, such as LinkedIn, copying its content. 

Providing a better experience on its mobile app ties directly into that goal.

(Image source: blog.twitter.com)