You may already know about the problems that certain third-party applications have had with Twitter, especially Falcon Pro and its Token limit , which its creator finally decided to remove from Google Play, since he couldn't find a way for more users to acquire it and enjoy one of the best Twitter clients that Android has had.
Twitter remained unmoved by Falcon Pro's attacks, knowing its power and holding the rights to the application as the creator of one of the most popular social networks. The Falcon Pro developer rebelled by resetting the tokens or keys for a second time, so that more users could purchase it. In just two days, the number of keys available for the application suddenly reached its limit. This decision by Twitter to put a stop to it led the creator of the famous and popular application to permanently remove it from Google Play.
Creating a Twitter client is a dream for any developer . If you create an application that's very popular, you'll gain some fame on Android. But keep in mind that at some point you'll reach the imposed key limit and no one else will be able to buy it, because Twitter's policy is what it is: you have a maximum number of tokens and that's it.
On the other hand, Twitter has been developing its own official app very slowly , changes have come late, and it has always seemed as if it had no interest in it.
Around this slow pace in creating a worthwhile application, several developers have emerged who have capitalized on the shortcomings of the official client, bringing very complete options to users' devices. Falcon Pro, Plume, HootSuite , Twicca, and Carbon are some examples, each with its own strengths, while Falcon, Twicca, and finally Tweet Lanes, have been the ones that have truly harnessed the full potential of a social network like Twitter.
So far, so good. Twitter is slow with its official app, and good for everyone else for taking advantage of the gaps. But yesterday, Twitter surprised everyone with the release of a new beta version, which includes everything that had been expected since its official launch on Android.
The new beta version 5.0 of Twitter
An excellent visual interface, its colors well treated in a palette of grays, blue and white, great navigation between all its options, the much used Holo-style side navigation panel and tabs that allow you to go through each of the most important functions of Twitter with side gestures, such as the timeline, retweets, mentions, direct messages or trends.
Today, many on the internet are surprised by Twitter's innovation with its new beta version, but what at first glance may seem like a novelty, at least in the way you navigate between tabs with side gestures, there is an application that has already created this same thing months ago , Tweet Lanes.
The official Tweet Lanes Twitter account pointed out that Twitter appears to have copied certain key features of their application, and this is evident when comparing Twitter's beta version 5.0 with Tweet Lanes. Its creator, Chris Lacy, was astonished to discover how similar the new Twitter beta version was to his own.
Tweet Lanes is a great Twitter client
So what's left to do? Nothing the creator of Tweet Lanes can do . He used Twitter to create a fantastic app, and then copied what he thought would be best for his own official version. Lanes has also brought Chris some fame, although it's worth remembering that this developer is best known for the excellent launcher he created: Action Launcher Pro for Android.
Twitter has its own unique approach here, with its token limitations, bringing the strengths of other Twitter clients like Tweet Lanes to its official application, and leveraging developers who use its social network to create excellent applications. It's a love-hate relationship for both Twitter and third-party client developers.
Perhaps what Twitter should do to reconcile with them someday is to hire them, since their work has clearly demonstrated their worth as creators, and they have also been part of the great success that Android enjoys today.
More information - New beta version of Twitter with a drastic change in the interface