Twitter has entered into an agreement with Atebits (aka Loren Brichter) to acquire Tweetie, a leading iPhone Twitter client.

Published: 14 Apr 2010

Twitter has entered into an agreement with Atebits (aka Loren Brichter) to acquire Tweetie, a leading iPhone Twitter client.

Tweetie will be renamed Twitter for iPhone and made free (currently $2.99) in the iTunes AppStore in the coming weeks.

Loren will become a key member of Twitter’s mobile team.

“Developers, services, and publishers will be able to leverage the Twitter iPhone and iPad applications to create additional innovative tools and integrations for users,” stated the company.

The company wrote on its blog: “Careful analysis of the Twitter user experience in the iTunes AppStore revealed massive room for improvement. People are looking for an app from Twitter, and they're not finding one. So, they get confused and give up. It's important that we optimize for user benefit and create an awesome experience.”

Ryan Sarver, an engineer at Twitter, according to telegraph.co.uk, said that the company had acquired third-party client Tweetie in order to make it easier for newcomers to the microblogging service to download a Twitter app. Although there are dozens of third-party clients available, none are allowed to feature “Twitter” in there name, leading to potential confusion.

The report also highlighted that Sarver also sought to allay the fears of developers who were concerned that Twitter might be about to launch its own suite of products and services traditionally catered for by third-party clients. He said that Twitter would never use the word “official” to describe a mobile or desktop app, but that the company would be adding new functionality to its site, and making acquisitions where appropriate to improve the ecosystem and user experience.