Alright ladies and gents, this one's something you have to check out -- the newest iteration of Twidroyd (formerly Twidroid) brings Live Preview to Android. It looks and acts very much like the new Twitter website that's slowly rolling out to everyone, but in my humble opinion it goes a step further and better. Rather than direct you to profiles, and users tweets like the web client does (screen shot after the break in case you're not familiar with it) it gives a live preview of a website link, or a picture. In short, it's AWESOME, and the caps lock is on purpose! Add in the other features, like native bit.ly support, widgets, multiple accounts, Twitlonger, and more and you have what I think is now the premiere Twitter application for Android -- or any other OS. You do have to be running Android 2.x or higher for the Live Preview, but by now that's the majority of us.
After the break we have some more shots, the official press release, and the download links. [Businesswire, @RalieghRETalk (Bob Fortner)]
And the example of the new Twitter web client for comparison:
PostUp Launches Twidroyd 4 – #1 Twitter Client for Android Becomes First Mobile App With LivePreview™ of Embedded Links to Web Pages, Photos, Videos and More
PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PostUp, Inc., announced today the launch of Twidroyd 4, the newest version of the most popular and highest-rated Twitter client for Android devices. Twidroyd 4 is the first mobile Twitter application to include LivePreview™, a new feature where links within tweets trigger a live view of the associated web page, photo or video in a pane immediately adjacent to the tweet. Users will be able to see and engage with the linked item, including scrolling through web pages and interacting with the content. Twidroyd 4 works on most Android devices including phones and tablets. Android phones are the fastest-growing segment of the mobile market, and a wide range of Android tablets are being introduced this year.
“We’re excited about the fact that this is the first Twitter client on any platform to provide fully integrated views of the complete range of web pages, photos and other media embedded within tweets”
Twidroyd 4 takes full advantage of the Android phone or tablet’s orientation. When in “portrait” mode, LivePreviews of plixi or Twitpic photos appear embedded within the tweet, while all other tweets appear as they do in the current version. Turning the device into “landscape” mode automatically opens the LivePreview window, which displays the linked web pages, photos or videos where appropriate and additional information about the tweeter when no links are present. As users move through their tweets, LivePreviews appear instantly, enabling them to easily and quickly see the content that is most important to them.
“We’re excited about the fact that this is the first Twitter client on any platform to provide fully integrated views of the complete range of web pages, photos and other media embedded within tweets,” said Bill Gross, CEO of PostUp. “Users no longer have to click on a link to open a separate browser and flip between the two windows. It’s all there within the application, enabling a seamless reading experience.”
Twidroyd is available in two versions. The free version is a fully featured Twitter client, including postings, mentions, direct messages with threaded view, integrated search, list viewing, URL shortening, geo-location support, multi-language interface, background notifications and more. A Pro version is available for $3.99 and adds multi-account support, full list support, three desktop widgets for viewing tweets on the device’s home screen, native bit.ly support and other advanced features. Both also fully integrate Twitlonger for tweets containing more than 140 characters, and plixi, for embedding photos within tweets. In addition to downloading Twidroyd 4 at the Android marketplace, Android users can also text TWIDROYD to 95997 on their phones to receive the download link directly. Android OS version 1.5 or higher is required for all features except LivePreview, which requires version 2.0 or higher.
