Tweetie 2 Disappears from iTunes Store. Is Twitter for iPhone Coming Soon?

May 18, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke

Update: According to a 9to5Mac.com post published this afternoon, Twitter Version 3.0 for iPhone will officially be available for download anytime now, via the iTunes Store link.

Noticeably absent this morning from the Apple iTunes Store is the hugely popular Twitter client, Tweetie 2. Back on April 12, 2010, GSL reported that the app had been acquired, developer and all, by Twitter. The purpose of the acquisition was for the social media giant to redevelop the app into its own client. The move was announced only days after Twitter released its long-anticipated client for BlackBerry devices.

A little more than a month later, Tweetie 2′s disappearance from the App Store is seen as a sign that the official Twitter for iPhone app could be released very soon. Several weeks ago, Version 2.1.2a was quietly posted on the App Store for download. The only noticeable  difference from the previous version was the addition of a slot machine feature. A winning combination resulted in the display of the message shown in the screenshot at the bottom of this post.

What features and specifications should we expect in the next generation Twitter client? Well, since it’s development is under the control of Twitter, it should have all of the bells and whistles. An official client should certainly take advantage of all of the standard features of Twitter. In order for it to be as popular as Tweetie 2, it must also integrate handy features like Instapaper, profile statistics, URL shortening, photo/video uploads, and others. No official information on features or pricing has yet to be released, but it is almost certain the app will be free.

The other question that many die-hard Tweetie 2 for iPhone users like myself have is if the release of Twitter for iPhone will be done conjunction with the release of an iPad version. In the current field of Twitter clients for iPad, only Twittelator combines the complete spectrum of features and a aesthetically pleasing design.

For now, the existing client still functions for those who had previously purchased it. Whether any further updates will be made available for existing Tweetie 2 users is unknown. Based on the anticipated name change, though, it is likely that an entirely new app will be made available for download. As of the writing of this post, the official Twitter Blog contained no clues as to when the release is expected to be made public. Additionally, the Atebits website appears exactly as it did prior to the acquisition. Hopefully, we’ll see the update before the release of the OS 4.0-enabled iPhone 4G…or at least before the next iPhone 4G device pops up somewhere in the world.