Now that eReader and InstaPaper support, the greatest potential for Twitter to one-up its iPhone apps would be to leverage the upcoming OS4. This would allow for folders, which Twitter could encourage for its own cooperative Android apps, as well as message unification, which could provide a more direct and easily accessed alert system for Twitter activity.
Pros and cons of Twitter creating apps for Android and the iPhone
One of the benefits of creating an Android app is the broad potential reach for users. Android’s operating system is available on several devices, from a range of manufacturers, sold through multiple wireless service providers. The iPhone, on the other hand, is currently still only available through AT&T, and is manufactured only by Apple.
Of course, the catch is that this distinction is not necessarily a bad thing for Apple. Having a tightly controlled manufacturing and distribution system means fewer needs for creating an app/or apps that can run on Android’s wide system. Android will surely incur more uniformity in the coming year, but the iPhone’s platform is already more stable.
