Twitter rolls-out major design overhaul for web and apps

Twitter has launched a major redesign of its entire ecosystem, aimed at bringing a unified user experience to its web and mobile app portals.

The social network is rolling-out the new simplified look to Twitter.com as well as the smartphone apps for iPhone (iPad users are yet to receive the update) and Android devices.

The redesign brings a brand new profile and a simple navigation menu on the left hand side of the page. This offers easy access to your followers, who you follow, your lists and recent images.

To the right of the page will be your latest tweets, as pictured.

Home, Connect, Discover

The new-look Twitter also brings a new interfaced centred around three underpinning elements. Home, Connect and Discover.

The Home section now embeds photos and videos within your feed, a la Facebook, and will also feature conversations resulting from tweets.

All of those features will remain present in the new versions of the mobile apps for iPhone and Android devices, underlining Twitter's efforts to offer a more complete cross-platform experience.

The Connect tab brings you to your mentions and @replies and retweets, while discover features trending hashtags and topics which have been tailored to your interests and locations.

The new apps for iPhone and Android are available to download now, while at the time of writing, we were still seeing the older version at Twitter.com.

YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qqDy5BmYKE

Exclusive: Google: ICS is first step in Android overhaul

Google will use its newest version of Android, dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich or Android 4.0, as the basis for the platform for the next few years.

Hugo Barra, Product Management Director for Android at Google, said during a press briefing that ICS was a huge overhaul of the Android platform, and one that brings new levels of user operability to the OS.

"Even before we finished Honeycomb, which was designed specifically for tablets, we decided to take a step back and find out what users wanted from Android," said Barra.

"We gave both users and non-users a device, asked them what they expected, talked to a number of people around the world - basically finding out what they wanted [in our next OS].

Early steps

"We learned a lot from these interactions and that was the data we used to rethink the face of Android. Ice Cream Sandwich is the first step in rethinking Android for the next two to three years, and it's the biggest release we've done in terms of [new] code."

Ice Cream Sandwich offers a number of new features, including data counters, multi-tasking with an inbuilt task killer and an overhauled contacts system to make it easier to communicate with those around you.

Stay tuned for our in-depth hands on: Ice Cream Sandwich review to see if you should consider upgrading to the new OS in the future.

brightcove : 1236959245001]]>