Twitter on iPhone, Android Web browsers looks and works like an app
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Twitter has redesigned its mobile website using HTML5,turning it into a Web app, which allows the social network’s mobile site to look and act more like the native Twitter apps available on smartphones.
‘We want you to be able to access Twitter no matter where you are; regardless of what device you use; or, whether you prefer to access Twitter through a mobile application or the browser,’ said Carolyn Penner, a spokeswoman for the microblogging site. ‘This Web app allows us to provide a high-quality and consistent Twitter experience on high-end touchscreen devices -- whether or not an official Twitter application is available.’
Penner said in a blog post about the update that Twitter scrapped its old mobile site and built the new version ‘from the ground up for smartphones and tablets, which have more advanced browsers that support the latest Web technologies, including HTML5.’
The same functions found in Twitter’s smartphone apps are there in the HTML5 mobile site, including the ability to quickly scroll through a user’s timeline, move between tabs to see @mentions and direct messages, search and view trending topics and lists, and of course, write Tweets, she said.
But the HTML5 verison of the mobile site can’t yet be viewed on every smartphone on the market, Penner said.
On Wednesday, the update was available ‘to a small percentage of users on iPhone, iPod Touch and Android smartphones,’ she said. ‘We’ll be rolling it out to additional folks with those devices in the coming weeks. ‘
RELATED:
Osama bin Laden raid unknowingly live tweeted by pair in Pakistan
NASA offers Twitter followers prime view of space shuttle Endeavour launch
HTML5 logo unveiled by the World Wide Web Consortium, with help from Microsoft
-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles