Bummed there is no Twitter on Mxit? Don’t fret now you have Tweetr

As a platform, Mxit seems to be evolving. In the last year it has expanded the user experience by opening up its API and allowing third-party developers to build apps for the mobile social network.

In December a third-party developer quietly launched Tweetr on Mxit, an app that allows users to browse tweets from Twitter’s mobile site without the need for a Twitter account.

“The decision to incorporate twitter into Mxit was a simple one. I knew there was demand for these two content segments and if we simplified accessibility to the content (that users are already searching for) on a client millions users in Africa log into every day, then we could help introduce certain price sensitive users in Africa (in terms of data charges) to Twitter and, in effect, open a new user base to the social network,” says app creator Jeeten Bhoora.

According to the app developer, users can add the app as a contact on Mxit and then browse for channels that are of interest to them. The channels work as categories, such as “SA comedians”, “Facts & Quotes, football teams and religion. The tweets that appear on Mxit are updated every 20 minutes from chosen Twitter handles. Users with Twitter accounts can reply, retweet or simply email it from the app.