Twitter for Android needs pest control

All’s not well in Twitter’s paradise: the recently revamped Android version of the Twitter app is under fire by users who are being inundated with bugs while trying to use it.

While you only need to search for “Twitter for Android” to see complaints about multiple issues, the main problem stems from the fact that some users can’t access the Profile tab in the app. When you tap on the profile or “Me” tab, you’re greeted with a blank screen, and you can’t access your Direct Messages, own tweets or switch accounts in the app.

No tweets to be found!

While not all devices face this problem, we did find one device here at tech2 that had this bug. Other complaints include slow response times and “floating tweets”.

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Twitter for Android has not been the go-to app for most regular users for a long time. Most prefer third-party apps for tweeting through their phones, issues with API rate limits notwithstanding. Twitter has been aggressively trying to work out ways to popularise home-grown Twitter clients amongst regular users.

The micro-blogging website released an update for its Android client earlier last week to incorporate the Holo theme and new Cards. The update brought along the ability to swipe between tabs to access the Home, Connect, Discover and Profile tabs. Interestingly, the swipe function was first released by Twitter for its redesigned Windows Phone app. Of course, since you cannot swipe to bring up quick actions, you will need to tap and hold a tweet to bring up the menu, which will allow you to Retweet or Favourite it.

Android users will also be able to experience wider and taller timelines that fill the screen and a flat navigation bar. Twitter is also making it easier to connect with friends and search for conversations by throwing up suggestions as you start typing out a user name or hashtag.

The Twitter apps on iPhone and mobile web have received tweaks too. All the mobile apps now show more types of content in expanded tweets. Essentially, a new type of Cards will now be visible within the tweets.

Twitter Cards are embedded information that pop up within a tweet. When you click on a tweet of this sort, it opens a drawer that contains more information. Tweets with additional information currently have an extra icon with details about the kind of content that is in the tweet. Twitter unveiled new types of Cards in an invite-only developer meet last week. These new Cards will allow for new capabilities like mobile app linking, photo galleries and product information.

Let us know in the comments below if you’re facing more issues with the Twitter for Android app.