Twitter rolls out Vine app for Android

Twitter is bringing Vine, the popular 6-second looping video application, to Google's Android operating system, months after debuting it for Apple's iOS.

Vine launched on January 24 for people with iPhones and iPads and has climbed to 13 million users, but none for Android. That vacuum, on world's No. 1 mobile operating system platform, forced Android smartphone users into circumventions to view the snippets.

The Android version gets many of the same capabilities: easy video creation with automatic playback and sound; the Explore feature, for discovering popular posts and seeing what's trending; and Find Friends, to find and invite people.

Plus, Twitter added a feature unique to Android: zoom.

The company seems to be girding itself for some bugginess. It says users will see frequent updates with new features over the coming weeks -- including front-facing camera, search, mentions and hashtags, and the ability to share to Facebook -- as well as bug fixes and performance improvements.

The news was met with many tweeted cheers, but some Android users were reporting problems with the new app--trouble finding it in the Google Play store, speculation it was quickly pulled from the store, and complaints it trips up on download.

It now appears to be live in Google Play store.

Twitter has been updating and adding features to the iOS app while working on the Android release, meaning the two apps are not perfectly in sync. But Twitter promises "that won't be the case for long."

Though Twitter users already had options for other video looping apps, Vine kept its controls simple and seamless, making it easy to create short videos you can share with friends and on social networks.

Source: CNET

Vine now lets you embed your 6-second clips on Websites

Viners rejoice -- you can now embed your 6-second mini-movie masterpieces on Websites. The Twitter-owned service has just added the functionality, itannounced in a blog post.

If you want to give your movies a home on a site, you'll just have to enter some simple code. You can choose from three sizes: 320px, 480px, or 600px. Choosing the "simple" option will embed just the video, while the "postcard" one will retain the clip's original format, complete with text description and location.

Or you can embed your clip using the iOS app, which has just been updated to include the feature. Tap the ellipses in the bottom-right corner, then "Share this post", then "Embed". It might not work on all sites though, so best check before you start shouting about it too much.

Head to our US cousins' site and you'll see our very own Ken German's brief retrospective of old mobile phones. It's like a sped-up shuffle down memory lane.

Vine launched a couple of months ago, but is still only for iOS. Hopefully us Android users will get a version soon. It's been a massive hit though, with 6-second clips springing up everywhere. The new Wolverine film even had its very own trailer on the service. At least it didn't give away the whole story, like a lot of trailers.

If you fancy seeing what people are making vids of, a site called Vinepeek will give you a glimpse. It's pretty addictive viewing, though I don't want to be held responsible if anyone posts anything not safe for work. Viewer discretion is advised, as they used to say at the start ofWorld's Scariest Police Chases.

[Source: CNET]

Tweetbot 2.7 for iPhone adds Vine, Flickr previews

The awesome Twitter client from Tapbots has just been updated.Tweetbot 2.7 for iPhone(US$2.99) adds some welcome additions that make it easier to take advantage of some video and photo sharing services.

If you've downloaded and installed the Vine app for sharing video clips with others, you're going to love Tweetbot 2.7. The update now provides inline viewing support for Vine and photo sharing app Flickr.

Some of us don't use Safari on our iOS devices, preferring the Google Chrome browser instead. Now Tweetbot settings provides a way to select your favorite browser to open links in. Finally, users can tap and hold a link and select "Open in Chrome". The release notes also state that there's an ability to open links in 1Password, although that's only true for versions 4.0 and later of the secure password keeper app.

The update is available for immediate download for existing users of the app.

[Source: TUAW]

Vine for Twitter, and what it means for you on Android

There's no Vine app for Android just yet, but that doesn't mean you can escape its 6-second video onslaught

Twitter and Vine today announced that (1) Vine is now available for iOS devices and (2) has been purchased by Twitter. If you hadn't heard of Vine before today, we're not too surprised -- it's been in limited beta testing until now, and it's not available for Android. But, seeing as how all roads (eventually) lead to Android these days, we're taking a quick look at it here.

The oversimplified version is that Vine is to video what Instagram is to pictures. In actuality, it's a fairly simple app that lets you take up to 6 seconds of video that might well be mistaken for a really good animated gif. It doesn't have to be 6 consecutive seconds, though. You can do two 3-second clips strung together. Or three 2-second clips. Or, if you hate your friends, six 1-second clips.

You're going to start seeing a lot of these, even if there's no Android app.

[Source: AndroidCentral]