For those that don’t already know App.net is a new paid for alternative to popular micro blogging website Twitter, and is currently only a month into its alpha release with the site already enjoying some impressive figures. Today we have news of the AppNet Rhino application that is an important milestone for the site.
As PCMag are reporting the AppNet Rhino isn’t the first official iOS application that supports access to the websites social stream, which was achieved by the app titled Buffer. This allows users that are paying $50 for a year’s worth of service or $100 for access to App. nets developer channels to gain access to the websites real time social feed.
Rhino is the first application though that has been written from scratch to specifically support the service, and has also managed to be the first to be approved by Apple, but may get beaten on features once more App.net themed applications become available.
It will allow users to view the websites main timeline along with the comments of anyone on the service that has mentioned an individual user, and also a global App.net feed. While there is a lack of features from the app, the rise of specific applications for the App.net service is an important milestone. This comes after some impressive usage figures were released with 250,000 posts being created on the site by the end of August.
More than half of these have been made by third party clients, and a few days earlier it was revealed that the service had gained 17,500 users, which gained App.net at least $875,000 in funding if every user only purchased the lowest level of service.
The new service may be an advertising free Twitter alternative for users, but one of the standout features of it is the API access for developers. This will not only benefit users looking to code apps, mash-ups along with other services that integrate with App.net’s data, but users that want to get more out of their real-time experience will also benefit.
Also having to pay for access for real-time updates from within a community should guarantee the authenticity of its members. To download the application head over to the App Store. Do you use App.net?