Twitter Updates Official iPad and iPhone Apps

Twitter has announced updates for both their iPhone and iPad apps today. Both include an array of new features including:

• Photos. Uploading photos is now easier than ever. There’s a camera button in the toolbar and we improved the image preview, so you can quickly choose a photo from your library or take a new picture.
• Follow your friends. Now you can find which of your friends are on Twitter that have chosen to be discoverable through the contacts on your phone.
• Local trends. See trends based on your location.
• Shorten links. When you want to share a link on Twitter, just paste it into the Tweet box and we’ll automatically shorten it.
• Tweet box design. We redesigned the “New Tweet” screen so it’s now cleaner and simpler.
• Autocomplete. When tweeting on-the-go, speed and accuracy are important. Autocomplete for @usernames and hashtags help you tweet faster
• Direct Messages. The new Direct Message conversation view helps you better keep track of messages.

The iPhone app receives a new feature called the “Quick Bar”, that allows you to quickly see trends at the top of your timeline. Swiping left or right reveals additional trends for the day.

Give it a whirl and let us know how the update is working for you.

Update: You might want to hold off on updating. It appears that “quick bar” cannot be removed and it is being used for sponsored ads. While we understand the need for ads in a free app, let’s hope they decide to transition to something more subtle.