What's Android lockscreen app Cover all about and why did Twitter buy it

In the season of acquisitions, here’s yet another. Twitter has acquired Cover, an Android lock-screen app that allows users to customise the apps on the homescreen of their mobile devices when it’s locked. Twitter hasn’t been quite clear about what it has planned for Cover, but it has announced that the app will be still available for download on Google Play Store.

However, it all seems to be a part of Twitter’s big mobile strategy, after all the micro-blogging reportedly generates majority advertising revenue from the mobile app rather than the web version. Owning a lockscreen app would enable Twitter to be on the forefront of a mobile device.

Techcrunch points out, “It’s clear that on some level, if an app is not owning the SIM that controls the entire phone, or the operating system, this is one very obvious way to remain front of mind for a user and incorporate a series of services that become front and center features for a user.”

For those who haven’t heard about Cover,  here’s how the Android-only app works:

Currently, Cover isn’t available for India, but adventurous tech enthusiasts can download the ‘ unsupported APK ’ through the Google Group if they want to get their hands on the app. The app is still in beta testing mode. Once installed, it takes over your lock screen without making any changes to your homescreen launcher. However, you will need to key in details about your home and office address.

Now, depending on your location, the left side of your lockscreen is occupied by a column of apps which scroll vertically. Initially, it will pull up popular apps, but gradually learn your habits and pull up only those apps that you use most frequently. Once outside home or office, the app shows on-the-go apps like Twitter and Facebook. If you plug your earphones, it pulls up the music app, while the app displays Google Maps as soon as it detects you are accelerating in a car and so on. Basically, it’s an intuitive app that learns user behavior and changes the options presented accordingly.

The report further states, “Apps are an overcrowded game. So owning the lockscreen gives you, effectively, a place to be first in the queue.” In its bid to be first in the mobile race, it seems to be just the right move for Twitter. However, it should be noted that Cover is designed to completely leverage the Android platform, and not something Twitter can integrate with the closed iOS system.