Twitter is awesome. Google+ is great for photographs and deep discussions from geeks of all kinds – and it has a fantastic Android app – but Twitter is still the king when it comes to quick bites of info, breadth vs. depth, and commentary on what’s happening right now.
Here’s a collection of Android enthusiasts that I enjoy following on Twitter. I hope you find a few new tweeps to follow, and I hope you’ll share your favourites with me, too!
These accounts are run by the Android team, either as official Google accounts, or as personal accounts for Google employees.
@Android – The official Android Twitter account, tweeting news, tips, and tricks. Often retweets other official Android accounts.
@GoogleMobile – Not limited to Android, this account covers general Google Mobile topics. Doesn’t tweet as often as you might expect, though.
@googlenexus – News about the Google Nexus line, and tweets relevant to Nexus owners.
We’ve started rolling out Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, to Nexus S phones on a number of carriers with more to come. Enjoy! android.com/whatsnew/
— Google Nexus (@googlenexus) July 20, 2012
@AndroidDev – News and announcements specifically for Android app developers. Most tweets aren’t relevant to us consumers, but the occasional tweet lets you see what’s coming soon!
@timbray – Tim Bray, Android Developer Advocate. Has some great insights about Android, mobile, and tech in general.
@ben8128 – Ben Eidelson, Product Manager for Google+ Mobile.
@romainguy – Romain Guy – Android engineer who frequently posts links to new apps and games, alongside his general thoughts.
@hugobarra – You might remember Hugo Barra from the Google I/O Android keynote – he’s the Director of Product Management for Android.
@retomeier – Reto Meier, the Technical Lead of Android Developer Relations.
Making your apps indistinguishable from magic: blog.radioactiveyak.com/2012/07/making…
— Reto Meier (@retomeier) July 30, 2012
@Arubin – Andy Rubin doesn’t tweet very often, but he is the founder of Android, so I think it’s only fair to include him here.
Blogs and Sites
Of course, most Android blogs and sites have their own Twitter feed – these are just the ones I enjoy reading the most.
@mycolorscreen – Tweets beautiful home screen layouts from MyColorscreen.com, plus the occasional blog post or bit of news.
@HotAndroidApps – Automatically posts the latest “hot” Android apps, as determined by the AppBrain.com algorithm.
@TheAppBrain – Lots of stats about Android apps: most popular words used in titles, social SDKs, ad networks, and so on. Also tweets news about AppBrain.com, naturally!
Study: the top words in
#Android app titles: goo.gl/fmx2K— AppBrain for Android (@TheAppBrain) July 27, 2012
@xdadevelopers – The latest headlines from XDA Developers – plenty of information about rooting and ROMs.
@droidappstorm – That’s us! Besides tweets of our latest posts, we also share interesting news and apps we find across the web.
@Androidheadline – Bit of a cheat, this one – it tweets links to blog posts from various other Android sites (including Android.AppStorm), so it’s an easy way to see a lot of news, very quickly.
@verge – The Verge doesn’t just cover Android, but I’ve included it as it is (on the whole) the Android.AppStorm team’s favourite general tech news blog.
@newsycombinator – A bot that automatically posts the most popular Hacker News content – which means plenty of tweets about startups and the tech industry, including Android and mobile in general.
Final Fantasy comes to Ouya j.mp/MZ1Mdw
— news.yc Popular (@newsycombinator) July 31, 2012
The rest of these mainly tweet new posts from their blogs – if you follow them all, you’ll always have a great idea of what’s going on in the Android world!
Click the Twitter handles to see their Twitter pages, and the site names to visit their sites:
@AndroidAuth – Android Authority (our writer Sam Cater also writes for this site!)
@TalkAndroid – Talk Android
@phandroid – phandroid.com
@AndroidSPIN – AndroidSPIN
@pocketnowtweets – pocketnow.com (also covers Windows Phone and iPhone)
@AndroidPolice – Android Police (often seems to be first with news about ROMs and hacking)
@androidandme – Android and Me
@androidtapp – AndroidTapp (our writer Paul Wilks also writes for this site!)
Developer Teams
Most Android developer teams are on Twitter, so again I’ve narrowed these down to the ones I personally find most interesting or useful.
@cyanogenmod – Up-to-date information about the incredibly popular CyanogenMod, which we reviewed here.
Come and get it ([Firmware][SGH-I777][JB][4.1.1] CyanogenMod 10 preview | USER THREAD – xda-developers) goo.gl/cBZrT
— CyanogenMod (@CyanogenMod) July 26, 2012
@clockworkmod – If you’re familiar with CyanogenMod, you’re probably familiar with ClockworkMod, a tool which gives your Android a different boot mode and allows you to backup, restore, and modify what’s on the device.
@miuirom – News and updates for the MIUI ROM, which we covered here.
@EAMobile – If you’re a fan of EA’s mobile games (like Madden and The Sims), it’s worth following this account to keep up with news and sales.
@gameloft – Another big mobile game developer – this is the team behind the new Batman and Spider-Man mobile games, as well as original creations like N.O.V.A.
@boidapp – Creators of the wonderful Boid Twitter app. Very active on Twitter, and seem to reply to everyone!
Individuals
Some of these are developers, some are writers, and some are both – but all are interested in Android:
@bwreedbgr – Brad Reed, a writer for BGR who often posts about Google, Android, and tech in general.
MAJOR UPDATE FROM THE APPLE-SAMSUNG PATENT TRIAL: Apple lawyer claims that Samsuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
— Brad Reed (@bwreedbgr) July 31, 2012
@lukew – Luke Wroblewski, a great person to follow for stats in general, especially about mobile OS topics.
@brad_frost – Brad Frost, mobile web strategist and designer at R/GA
@cyanogen – Developer of the aforementioned CyanogenMod, of course! A.K.A. Steve Kondik.
@ginatrapani – Gina Trapini, creator of ThinkUp and Todo.txt (here’s our review of the Android app), and host of This Week in Google. Oh, and founder of Lifehacker.
Android.AppStorm Writers
Okay, we don’t all tweet about Android all the time, but we’re all fans, and we’re all interested in the latest news. Click our Twitter handles to see our Twitter pages and our full names to see our posts on this site:
@MichaelJW – Michael James Williams (that’s me!)
Using Twitter is a great way to help you become a better writer. Thanks to its 140 character limit, you have to learn to express yourself…
— Michael J Williams (@MichaelJW) July 24, 2012
…concisely.
— Michael J Williams (@MichaelJW) July 24, 2012
I have uploaded a New Homescreen “Fly birdie”
@mycolorscreen. Check it out! mycolorscreen.com/2012/07/30/fly…— PC (@pmacardoso) July 30, 2012
@khouryrt – Dr. Rita El Khoury
If u wanna exercise but don’t know where to start, I HIGHLY recommend Workout Trainer (iOS, Android). 1month on, loving the variety to bits.
— Dr. Rita El Khoury (@khouryrt) July 31, 2012
@ruairiogall – Ruairi O’Gallchoir
Who Have I Missed?
It’s times like this that I wish I’d been adding people to Twitter lists in the same way that I add them to Google+ circles – I know there are a few great Android tweeps that I follow that haven’t made it onto this list. On top of that, there must be loads of great Android enthusiasts on Twitter that I’m not even aware of!
If you have any suggestions for people to add to this list, please leave them in the comments. I think we’ll have to write “50 More Android Tweeps to Follow on Twitter” pretty soon!
