Windows Phone 8 App Pick: Twitter 2.0

Twitter launches a major rethinking of its app, designed for Windows Phone 8

App: Twitter 2.0
Category: Social
Publisher: Twitter
Price: FREE

The original Twitter app for Windows Phone has been around since Microsoft’s mobile platform launched in October 2010, but it’s always been kind of a hit or miss affair, with a strange light blue and white theme and basic features. This week, Twitter updated its app for Windows Phone 8, and the new, 2.0 version sports a much more attractive user experience, plus some native Windows Phone 8 functionality.

Twitter 2.0 includes the following new features:

New user experience. Instead of the old light blue and white user experience, Twitter 2.0 now offers a more attractive UI with graphical pivots for timeline, connect (mentions, follows, and retweets), discover (search, trending, and categories) and Me (your profile and direct messages).

Native Windows Phone 8 features. Twitter 2.0 lets you add Twitter to the lock screen through the quick status or detailed status. Additionally, you can now pin Twitter accounts, lists, and searches to directly to Start with their own dedicated tiles.

Tweet and search from anywhere. With app bar-mounted Tweet and Search buttons, you can tweet or search from anywhere in the app.

(Microsoft claims that you can “just start a new tweet and speak the text,” but I can’t seem to find this feature.)

Twitter has always been a gotta-have-it app on Windows Phone despite the integrated support for the service, and version 2.0 is even better. You can download Twitter for Windows Phone 8 from the Windows Phone Store. I can’t wait to see a version of this app for Windows 8 and RT.

Discuss this Article 9

Josh602
on Feb 26, 2013

We've finally got an awesome Twitter app on Windows Phone. And hopefully this is a sign that they've submitted the Windows 8 app for approval in the Windows Store as well!

rkbrente
on Feb 26, 2013

So, nothing for WP 7.x?

Josh602
on Feb 26, 2013

I'm using it now on my Lumia 800. You should be able to get it.

ian.berg
on Feb 26, 2013

There's an update for the Twitter app on WP7 too.

SvenJ
on Feb 26, 2013

You could go check the Marketplace/Store. Twitter 2.0 says WP7.5 when I access using a WP 7.5 profile.

SvenJ
on Feb 26, 2013

For speech, just hold down the windows key and say "Twitter, new tweet". It's tied in with all that app access stuff.

thommck
on Feb 27, 2013

Nice it got an update, shame it took so long and disappointing it won't load on WP7.8 phones. I'll have to stick with Rowi for now.

One question about the app, is the top section (bit with the twitter logo) static? Seems like a complete waste of space. Being only able to read 3 tweets at once is a bit lame.

thommck
on Feb 27, 2013

D'oh! I spoke too soon! I just opened up the marketplace on my Omnia 7 and the update was there!
Interestingly, if you go to the apps "about" page it says it is version 3, not 2.
In regards to the empty space near the twitter logo, that is where the account name is displayed. Useful for multiple accounts but still a waste of space if you ask me. You can change the text size to small. This makes 4 tweets fit on screen rather than 3.

This is a really nice new UI with a lot better features than the old v1 app :)

thundr35
on Feb 28, 2013

I installed v2.0 yesterday and had an update today and now i'm back to the crappy v.1.x Anybody else have this happen?

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