Twitter recently announced that it has acquired Tweetie, the very popular and highly polished Twitter application for the iPhone . The application will now be called “Twitter for iPhone” and will drop from $2.99 to free, with developer Loren Brichter  joining the Twitter mobile team. Twitter also plans to launch Twitter for the iPad, which Brichter will be involved with.

Twitter also launched an official Twitter for BlackBerry application, so another mobile application shouldn’t come as much of a shock. And yet, the iPhone is a platform where Twitter has a very strong third party presence, and Twitter has no doubt been benefiting from the contributions of these developers. Tweetie is extremely polished and is arguably the best, but there are plenty of other quality applications that are getting hung out to dry. Still, a move like this seemed inevitable.

Careful analysis of the Twitter user experience in the iTunes AppStore revealed massive room for improvement. People are looking for an app from Twitter, and they’re not finding one. So, they get confused and give up. It’s important that we optimize for user benefit and create an awesome experience.

This all comes less than a week before Twitter’s developer conference, Chirp, where the company will try to steer developers down a path that they won’t be paving over any time soon.

Though,Twitter’s post does not mention anything about the Tweetie desktop application, which is available exclusively for the Mac. Don’t be surprised if this becomes ‘Twitter For Mac’ eventually.

Soon you’ll be able to neatly organize all your apps into folders right on the iPhone. There’s no need to launch iTunes, either. Just drag and drop apps on top of each other to automatically consolidate them into one folder.

This marks a shift for Apple. Previously app management had to be done via iTunes. But folders can be generated on the fly and even renamed if the auto-name does suit your fancy.

Also Steve Jobs recently announced that iBooks, the hybrid E-reader/book store application that launched alongside the iPad, will be coming to the iPhone.  The interface and store look the same as they do on the iPad, and you’ll be able to purchase a book using either device and sync your current position between them.

And, as a bonus, iPhone users will also get a free copy of Winnie The Pooh.

Opera has finally submitted its browser to the iTunes store, challenging Apple to reject it, while Firefox has already given a nod to the Windows Mobile version of Fennec.

Opera has been showing off Opera Mini on an iPhone while it claening the bugs in an application that few believe Apple will allow to be sold. Similarly Microsoft’s adoption of that same level of control has killed off the Windows Mobile version of Fennec – the mobile version of Firefox can’t exist within the limitations on the forthcoming Windows Phone 7 Series.

Apple has resolutely refused to allow alternative browsers on the iPhone – arguing that offering multiple ways of doing the same thing just confuses users without adding value. Applications can enhance Apple’s own webkit-based browser, but can’t replace the underlying engine in the way that Opera Mini does.

That’s a shame for those who’d like the faster browsing Opera Mini’s server-based rendering enables, not to mention background tabs that actually load while they’re in the background.

The Apple SDK agreement spells out that applications can’t interpret code for themselves – so no Flash, Java, or similar. Opera argues that because their Mini browser relies on servers to do all the interpretation, the client is simply rendering streamed content and therefore falls within the rules. But those rules also state that Apple can reject anything it likes, without having to explain itself to tiresome Norwegians or anyone else.

Fennec will continue – there are still many mobile platforms which don’t enforce such dictatorial regimes – but Apple has shown the commercial advantages of being the one in charge so it’s only to be expected that many will follow its lead.