Beginning today (Sept. 18) iPad users no longer have to make do with an enlarged Twitter iPhone app — a genuine iPad version is available in the App Store. The new layout feels extraordinarily roomy, and the navigation is simple. But the bigger screen could change the way you tweet. Here's what you need to know about Twitter for iPad.
Twitter has taken its cue from Facebook and added a header photo to profile pages. This is a new element for Twitter, but one familiar to Facebook users: Facebook's Timeline profile featured a larger background photo that offers an opportunity to tell a bit more about yourself. Now you have the same opportunity with Twitter.
To add a header photo, open Twitter on your iPad and tap "Me" from the left panel navigation listing. Tap the gear icon under your the new header section and then select "Edit profile." To add a new header photo, you can take a picture or choose one from your camera roll. Photos have to be at least 640 pixels wide, which shouldn't pose a problem, since even older iPads shoot larger than that. The new header photo page will appear on all Twitter applications, including the Web version.
The iPad app's larger screen lends itself to expanding tweets in your home newsfeed to make them easier to read. If there's a photo or video in the tweet, tap it to view full screen. If you include a photo in a tweet , use the highest-resolution image you've got. Smaller-sized photos that looked fine on a smartphone, can get pretty blurry when viewed at full screen on an iPad.
You can save drafts of your tweets in the iPad version — something you can't do on the Web version. While this may have limited use — How much editing will you do on a 140-character missive? — it could be handy if you're interrupted mid-tweet. In the new tweet box, tap "Cancel," and you'll be presented with the option to save your draft. When you're ready to finish it, you'll find a list of drafts on your "Me" page under the "Following and Followers" section.