Tweetie 2 disappeared from Apple’s App Store on Monday and its replacement, Twitter for iPhone, began showing up as an available update for iPhone and iPod touch users late on Tuesday. Unfortunately, it’s showing up in name only because the actual application seems to be missing in action, at least for now.
Tweetie 2 users trying to install the update are receiving warnings that the app isn’t yet available despite its appearance in iTunes. That warning most likely means the actual application is being processed through Apple’s servers and will appear for users shortly.
Atebits founder, Loren Brichter, announced in early April that Twitter was purchasing the iPhone version of Tweetie and that he would be joining the company’s mobile applications team.
The news caused a stir in the developer community over concerns that Twitter would push other client apps out of the market by offering an updated version of Twitter for free. Twitter is also working on an iPad version of the app, but hasn’t said when that would be released.
Twitter for the iPhone and iPod touch will be available as a free download from Apple’s iTunes-based App Store.