Hot and Rising app: Twitter official for iPhone

Twitter’s acquisition of popular independent iPhone app Tweetie (and the hiring of Tweetie’s sole developer in the process) earlier this year has finally paid off for users in the form of Twitter for iPhone, which is based on Tweetie and still performs quite a bit like it but is now a completely free app for iPhone and iPod touch users. While there are still dozens of third party Twitter apps in the App Store which each have various features and cater to various niches, it’s fairly easy to recommend Twitter for iPhone as the best place for users to start.

The app comes complete with support for Twitter lists, search, retweeting, trending topics, and the ability to be logged into multiple Twitter accounts simultaneously (handy if you’ve got professional and personal Twitter accounts). The only widespread complaint from users thus far is that the new icon, which features a bird in white silhouette with no eyes, looks a bit creepy.

A more serious, but much more rare, complaint is that a few users are still suffering from the same caching issues that plagued a handful of Tweetie users, in which leaving the app and then relaunching it would cause hours or even days worth of tweets to disappear and have to be reloaded. But this issue appears not to affect the vast majority of users, and combined with its free price tag and the potential it has going forward now that it’s got Twitter’s official backing (and funding), makes Twitter for iPhone both hot and rising.

Hot and Rising artist: Noush Skaugen

Noush Skaugen is the only non-label musician to make Beatweek’s 2010 Hot and Rising list; she’s also the only artist on the list with more than a million followers on Twitter. Neither of those facts were factors in her inclusion, but rather the straightforward fact that she’s one of the most promising emerging rockers on our radar. In our interview with Noush we talk about her new full length album which she’s still working on (she’s releasing an EP called Soho Sessions next week in the mean time), how she’s managed to leverage social media in the kind of successful manner which few other musicians have, and how her citizen of the world upbringing has impacted her as an artist. You can read the full interview in our Hot and Rising issue.

Hot and rising artist: Colbie Caillat

Colbie Caillat’s two albums have produced one hit song after another, with her latest release Breakthrough pushing her popularity to new heights with hits like Fallin’ For You and I Never Told You after her debut Coco spawned hits like Bubbly and Realize. Despite the heightening stakes, Colbie tells Beatweek she’s finding it progressively easier to deal with because “now I know what to expect.”

Colbie Caillat is a Beatweek “Hot and Rising artist” for 2010, and you can read our interview with Colbie in Beatweek’s current issue.

Hot and Rising product: iPhone 4

It’s not called “iPhone 4G” after all and you still can’t use it on any U.S. cell carrier other than AT&T, but Apple’s newly introduced iPhone (so new it isn’t even for sale yet) easily represents the product’s biggest leap forward since its introduction. If its gee whiz features like the “FaceTime” video chat and the ability to capture HD video and edit it on screen using the new iMovie app don’t wow you, then fact that it’s a solid all around upgrade will; its less flashy new features include a faster microprocessor (the same one currently used in the iPad), a significantly thinner body, and improved battery life.

Other new features include upgraded screen technology which Steve Jobs has dubbed “Retina Display” along with a six way gyroscope which app developers can tap into for interactivity. It also comes with the new iPhone 4.0 operating system, now dubbed “iOS 4” as part of a unified naming convention, which will include the option view all your email in a single inbox no matter how many email addresses you have – along with multitasking, the feature that geeks have been clamoring for.

So what’s not to like? iPhone 4 is significantly thinner, but some will question why Apple didn’t instead use that space to make the battery life really longer (or perhaps 64 GB capacity). There’s still no whiff of a Verizon iPhone. And the iPhone’s new external body styling, which turns out to be similar to the prototype unearthed in that San Jose bar last month, was deemed “ugly” by a number of observers at the time. We’ll see if they change their tune now that the styling is official.

Still, iPhone 4 is a no-brainer of an upgrade for current iPhone users who can afford the $199-$299, and will likely bring a whole new wave of users to the platform.

Beatweek 2010 Hot and Rising issue: Orianthi, iPhone 4, Saving Abel and much more