Sep 9, 2013

For the second time in a week, a video for one thing reveals information about something else. First, it was Google’s video of the unveiling of the new Android KitKat statute that inadvertently revealed the new Nexus 5. Now, Samsung’s video of the Unpacked 2013 Episode 2 event from Berlin, where they revealed the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, was discovered to have included video of a tablet optimized version of the official Twitter app. Reports indicate Twitter may be trying to get the genie back in the bottle, with the help of Samsung, by getting the video pulled. Nevertheless, Android fans have been scrambling for more information and have even managed to snag a copy of the apk.

The new version appears to not use a sliding menu accessed via a “hamburger” button, placing a strip down the left side of the screen with buttons to access home, mentions, discover, and your profile. When used in landscape mode, likely the popular orientation for a tablet device, the app has two independent columns for displaying information. The middle column shows the content for whichever button you are focused on, like the timeline. The right hand column is then used to display more detailed or additional information. For example, when viewing the timeline, the list of “Who to follow” appears in the right-hand column. Tap on an entry, and you get options to reply, retweet, favorite, or share the tweet as well as information on retweets and favorites. If you are viewing profile, the right-hand column will display the list of followers or following accounts.

It is not clear whether there are any problems with the app. In spending a few minutes with it, I did not run into any problems. If you want to give it a try yourself, you can download it via the link below, at least until it gets pulled. It does appear you need to clear all your data and uninstall the current version of Twitter you have on your tablet, so be prepared with those passwords.

If you do not want to deal with a leaked apk, you could just wait for the official version. The release date will probably be accelerated now that the cat is out of the bag.