The TweetDeck team announced that it would be discontinuing its support for the TweetDeck mobile apps in the coming months. The apps affected are TweetDeck for Android, TweetDeck for iOS and TweetDeck AIR. The apps will be taken off their respective app stores in May, and will stop working shortly after.

The move away from native mobile apps to a Web app was spurred in part by the majority of TweetDeck users moving to the Web as well:

In many ways, doubling down on the TweetDeck web experience and discontinuing our app support is a reflection of where our TweetDeck power-users are going. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a steady trend towards people using TweetDeck on their computers and Twitter on their mobile devices. This trend coincides with an increased investment in Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android –– adding photo filters and other editing capabilities, revamping user profiles and enhancing search. That said, we know this applies to most of our users –– not all of them. And for those of you who are inconvenienced by this shift, our sincere apologies.

Those wanting to stick it out until the apps are killed off in May might have a few problems with the apps as they run off of version 1.0 of the Twitter API. Twitter will be retiring this API this month so TweetDeck says the apps may suffer some outages until they are officially killed for good.

Fans of the desktop app will be pleased to know that those will not be getting the axe as part of TweetDeck’s new Web-centric focus. In fact, the team says that the updates hitting the Web app will come to the Mac and Windows clients soon after.

Twitter launched the ability to embed tweets about a year ago, but now those who prefer the TweetDeck interface to Twitter’s regular interface can take advantage of the functionality too.

It’s interesting that Twitter is implementing features from Twitter into TweetDeck, but still, a year and a half after the acquisition, has yet to include much of TweetDeck’s functionality into the Twitter experience.

We recently had a conversation with Mark Schaefer, author of The Tao Of Twitter. He told us this lack of TweetDeck functionality is the most significant feature (or lack of a feature, rather) we’ve seen from Twitter over the past year.

“Twitter purchased TweetDeck but have not yet integrated it into the core platform and every day I wonder why,” he said. “Twitter’s adoption levels are suppressed by the strange language of the platform and the difficult interface. The company is limiting itself by not leveraging this acquisition and the huge opportunities it presents. Puzzling!”

TweetDeck did get a redesign a few months back. Perhaps in the coming year, we’ll see Twitter do more in terms of bringing TweetDeck feature to the Twitter interface.

Twitter bought TweetDeck last year, leading many to assume that Twitter was about to get a TweetDeck-like interface, or some features from the product, at least. So far, however, Twitter has shown no indication that this will happen. That doesn’t mean it won’t, but Twitter hasn’t stopped the product itself from getting updated from time to time, while making other completely unrelated tweaks to Twitter’s own desktop client and apps.

We recently had a conversation with Mark Schaefer, author of the book The Tao Of Twitter. When asked what he thought the most significant feature Twitter has launched this year has been, he said he feels the most significant thing is the lack of TweetDeck integration.

“This is going to be a weird answer but I think the most significant story is what they HAVEN’T launched – a TweetDeck-like interface,” said Schaefer. “Take it from somebody who spends a lot of time coaching people on Twitter … the current interface is difficult and non-intuitive. How do you even find your direct messages unless you really hunt?”

“Twitter purchased TweetDeck but have not yet integrated it into the core platform and every day I wonder why,” he adds. “Twitter’s adoption levels are suppressed by the strange language of the platform and the difficult interface. The company is limiting itself by not leveraging this acquisition and the huge opportunities it presents. Puzzling!”

That’s an interesting point, considering that the whole strategy of the company once co-founder Jack Dorsey returned to day-to-day operations seemed to be to make users better understand how to use Twitter (though Dorsey has now assumed a reduced role at the company).

Why hasn’t Twitter integrated TweetDeck into the regular Twitter experience? Would you want it to?

TweetDeck said when the acquisition was announced, “The mainstream Twitter user-base is well catered for by twitter.com and the official mobile clients. And by becoming part of the official platform, TweetDeck will now fill that role for brands, influencers, the highly active and anyone that just needs ‘more power’.

So is that the end of it?

The background is now lighter, and you can switch themes by clicking on the theme indicator on the top toolbar. You can also change your font from the general tab in the settings pane.

“Last December, we launched a new version of TweetDeck on a framework that helps us develop new features and integrate your feedback. Since the start of the year we have been making continued improvements to the TweetDeck apps,” says TweetDeck product manager Richard Barley.

These include improvements to navigation, list management, profile improvements, improved web support, and “deeper discovery and engagement” through interactions and activity columns.

What do you think of the new look?

“One of the most visible changes is an updated design for the profile panel, which is now cleaner and clearer, making it easier to find out more about the people that matter to you,” writes Richard Barley on the blog.

“We’ve also made sure that usernames and hashtags are clickable no matter where they appear in TweetDeck, including user bios, and we’ve improved the global filter function so it now filters items from your Interactions and Activity columns too,” adds Barley.

Earlier this year, Twitter launched the new TweetDeck, indicating that it would keep the client, which it bought for a reported $40 million, alive. The new version enables uers to create, edit, delete, and otherwise manage lists from the app. It also came with some other tweaks, including more columns.

Earlier this month, Twitter added some “swifter navigation” to the interface:

You should see all changes on web.tweetdeck.com right now.

With the new version, users can create, edit, delete and otherwise manage lists from the app. User profiles have “add or remove from lists” in their menus, also making it easier to manage lists:

TweetDeck also now has two more columns, so you can keep up with more feeds at once. “A new Interactions column, available under the Add Column button, is like an enhanced Mentions column,” explains TweetDeck’s Richard Barley. “It shows not only all of your mentions, but also alerts when you have been followed, added to a list, retweeted or favorited.”

“Perhaps even more interesting is another new column type called Activity,” he adds. “This column shows a real-time feed of all the follow, favorite and add-to-list actions performed by the accounts that you follow. We think you’ll find this helps you discover lots of interesting accounts and content that you may not have previously seen.”

One major improvement is the addition of inline media previews, which lets users see pictures and videos with less hassle. Users will see small previews under related tweets. The option can be turned off if you don’t like it. There’s also a larger view option that comes up when you click the preview.

Last, but not least, “Quote” has been replaced with “Edit & RT” for retweeting – a sure to be popular adjustment.

The update is available for Windows, Mac, Chrome (app) and the web version at web.tweetdeck.com. Here’s a video demonstrating the features:

Perhaps the most significant part of the whole announcement is that Twitter continues to release updates to TweetDeck, and not just focus on the native Twitter clients.

In a post on the Twitter Blog, CEO Dick Costolo writes:

In early 2008, a London-based programmer named Iain Dodsworth began thinking about how to organize everything happening on Twitter. His answer was TweetDeck, a groundbreaking dashboard for monitoring what people are saying in real-time. Today, we’re pleased to announce that the TweetDeck team has joined Twitter.

TweetDeck is a great example of a third-party developer that designed tools for the incredibly important audience of Twitter power-users and, in turn, created value for the network as a whole. As Iain’s journey suggests, there is significant opportunity for developers who deliver insights that foster a more engaged Twitter user base.

A post from Dodsworth on the TweetDeck Blog indicates that TweetDeck will be integrated into Twitter’s official platfrom. Dodsworth writes:

The past three years have been an epic journey, with many highs and lows, accompanied by the constant thrill of never really knowing what to expect next. We’ve grown from one team member and a single user, to a team of fifteen and a user-base of millions. The reason for this growth is simple – our unwavering focus on providing high-quality tools and services for the Twitter-centric power-user. This has always been our core audience – the most active, influential and valuable users of Twitter and social media in general. Quality over quantity.

Change may well be inevitable, but we remain the same team, staying in London, with the same focus and products, and now with the support and resources to allow us to grow and take on even bigger challenges.

In a recent talk at Columbia University, Jack Dorsey discussed TweetDeck, shortly after rejoining day-to-day operations at the company. “TweetDeck is a very interesting client, because it presents a view that no other client in the world presents, which is this multicolumn, massive amounts of information in one pane,” he is quoted as saying. “And people really, really enjoy that. But I think that’s maybe five percent of the Twitter population. That five percent of the Twitter population are some of the most high-value publishers that we have, and they’re using the service at extreme velocity. So of course we have to pay attention to that, and I’m not saying we need to rid ourselves of interfaces like that. We have to embrace them.”

It would appear that all kinds of Twitter users will be embracing it now.

The deal is believed to have been done for $40 million in cash and stock.

Here it is several weeks later, and now we have a report from CNN indicating that the deal is done for over $40 million in cash and stock, citing “sources close to the deal”. The papers were signed Monday, according to the report.

Twitter is evidently still holding its cards close to its chest, and considering the whole thing a rumor, as far as the public is concerned.

Perhaps they’re just not ready to answer all of the questions that will come with the acquisition about the future of TweetDeck and the future of Twitter’s own platform.

UberMedia had intended to acquire TweetDeck earlier this year, but that never happened.

Shortly after Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey returned to Twitter a few months ago, he was quoted as saying, in a talk at Columbia University, “TweetDeck is a very interesting client, because it presents a view that no other client in the world presents, which is this multicolumn, massive amounts of information in one pane. And people really, really enjoy that. But I think that’s maybe five percent of the Twitter population. That five percent of the Twitter population are some of the most high-value publishers that we have, and they’re using the service at extreme velocity. So of course we have to pay attention to that, and I’m not saying we need to rid ourselves of interfaces like that. We have to embrace them.”

Consider TweetDeck embraced.

That 5% should grow significantly if Twitter rolls TweetDeck features into its own interface.

TweetDeck announced today that TweetDeck on Android (beta) is now officially available.

Google made a variety of interesting announcements today. The company held a small press event in which it introduced some new Android features. One is actually a Chrome extension/Android app combination that lets you send content from Chrome to your phone. The other is called Voice Actions, which lets you enter commands with your voice to bring up various functionalities on your Android device.

In addition, Google posted a lengthy piece on "myths and facts" regarding its joint proposal with Verizon over net neutrality legislation. That evidently won’t stop people from protesting outside of Google’s headquarters.

TechCrunch points to a couple of interesting social media search tools. One, called Sentimnt, is designed to let you search through your social feeds. Booshaka lets you search what’s trending on Facebook.

Ars Technica points to a new Firefox 4 beta, which includes JavaScript optimizations and support for multitouch interaction on Windows. Mozilla’s Rob Sayre talks more about the JavaScript stuff here.

Facebook launched a new software development kit for iPhone/iPad development, which will bring the open graph to iOS apps. This means iPhone and iPad apps will be getting a lot "more social" as Facebook puts it. It means that you will be able to bring your Facebook friends into more apps.

Speaking of Facebook, you may remember that panic button that was introduced for it a while back in an effort to thwart perverts. The UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre said today that the app has been downloaded 55,000 times. It has received over 211 reports about suspicious behavior online.

While it may be some time before Android users have a stable TweetDeck release, they can at least take comfort in knowing that it’s on the way. TweetDeck’s Iain Dodsworth writes:

First off, we’ve built Android TweetDeck from the ground up to be true multi-stream, laser focused on showing you all your friends’ cross-service activity in one app. Multi-column is still the order of the day but now columns are blended based on the type of activity rather than the service. And all this whilst retaining the most powerful functionality from each included service.

We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time making the app silky smooth from the column scrolling to the custom views – so much so that one of Google’s Android Developer Advocates recently described it as "a thing of beauty". So look out for the beta test later this week and please do get involved.

The upcoming Android version apparently will also foreshadow things to come for the iPhone and iPad versions of the app. Some new concepts in the Android app should be making their way to those (along with some bug fixes pending approval in Apple’s app store).

The desktop and web versions of TweetDeck may also see some additions borrowed from the Android incarnation. In the meantime, there is also an update for the desktop version available.