APRIL 11, 2010 • Atebits, the mobile developer behind the Tweetie iPhone twitter app, was acquired by Twitter. The app is being renamed Twitter for iPhone, and will now be available free instead of costing $2.99.

Impact: Like texting in general, tweeting is inherently a mobile activity. With the massive market share that Apple’s mobile platforms are attaining, it makes good sense for Twitter to control the primary access app to its service. This is another indication that era of wide-open iPhone development favoring the small independent developer is giving way to more institutionalized control now that the platform is established.