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If we had to pick being guilty of just two things here at WMExperts (yes, we know the list is much, much longer than that), it'd be a love of all things beta, and testing out new Twitter clients. And with that in mind we've been playing with Twikini, a rather lightweight client from Trinket Software (@twikini). It's just been released as a free beta.

Hit us up after the break for a lightning review.

Update: There were some issues running Twikini on the Moto Q. A new version has been released that fixes this and adds some other updates. Get it here.

Each week we bring you the best of what's happening in the smartphone world in our "Best of SPE roundup." Come take a look at what's news!

Last month Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer raised a bit of a ruckus (OK, when does he not) when discussing capacitive touchscreens and how he doesn't believe the iPhone uses them in a way that keeps the phone price economical.

Needless to say, many of you scoffed – nay, you were outraged – over the idea that Windows Mobile still doesn't support capacitive touchscreens simply because it costs too much. (And more than a few of you could care less, and that's OK, too.)

But fear not, loyal reader. We're here today to tell you that we believe capacitive touch is coming to Windows Mobile. We don't expect to see it with Windows Mobile 6.5, but it's probably coming thereafter. Our reasoning, after the break.

That's right, we just broke the first commandment of the all-new PreCentral.net – thou shalt not pun. But you'll forgive our excitement for our newest member of the Smartphone Experts family, who have been tirelessly poring over any and all news surrounding the rebirth of Palm. And they've backed up all the great content with more great design, and some Pre forums to boot.

So congrats to our PC frenemies. Job well done. Now, when's the Pre coming out? ;)

My dream job has always been either a professional basketball player or photographer. While my skills on the court negated the latter possibility, I did work my way through college as a newspaper photographer enjoying every assignment.  While my career path shifted after college, I've always kept a hand in photography and an eye for good picture sources. 

The Big Picture is a photo blog created by Alan Taylor for The Boston Globe. According to the Globe, "The Big Picture is intended to highlight high-quality, amazing imagery - with a focus on current events, lesser-known stories and, well, just about anything that comes across the wire that looks really interesting."  No arguments here.

The blog has one of the best collections of photographs I've seen in a long time. While this site more commonly accessed on a desktop/laptop, Kinoma Play is now offering it as a channel with zoom and pan capabilities that retains the high quality aspects of each photograph. The Big Picture is in the Kinoma Guide at Pictures and Podcasts>The Big Picture. The blog is updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Via Fuze Mobility

We'll freely admit that much of what developers do is a mystery to us, some sort of magical concoction of code and pixie dust that eventually becomes a working application. But we do understand the importance of APIs – application programming interfaces – and that's why we get a little excited for our dev friends when we hear that Microsoft will be making their lives a little easier.

From the same ZDNet story (and spotted by wmpu) that brought us the announcement of a Windows Mobile 6.5 "launch presentation" at TechEd also comes word of a session on APIs, specifically that there now is a "Windows Mobile Unified Sensor API to access hardware sensors," and an SDK to control the camera.

“The world of mobility has evolved. While keypads, stylus, and keyboards are all good and fine for device input, newer input methods have been popularized in recent years, such as accelerometers, touch screen gestures, capacitive touch screens, light sensors, and such. More than just gadgets and gimmicks, these next-generation input methods allow you, the mobile developer, to offer the best interface possible to your users on the road, enhancing their device experience. This session explores various input methods available on some of the latest Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5 devices and how to programmatically leverage them using managed APIs from Microsoft .NET Compact Framework-based applications. Topics covered include working with the Windows Mobile Unified Sensor API to access hardware sensors, controlling device cameras using the Windows Mobile SDK, capturing stylus and finger gestures on touch screens, detecting ambient light, making your device vibrate and sound-off, and more.”

In layman's terms? Whereas HTC writes its own code to access, say, the accelerometer on its phones, and Samsung has another for the Omnia – and the two didn't always play nicely within the same application – now there will be one API to rule them all, developed by Microsoft. And don't get too excited over the use of  capacitive touchscreens as an example up there. We're not expecting to see any capacitive screens with Windows Mobile 6.5.

But we're not just talking G-sensors here. Basically anything that makes your phone do anything will be standardized across the platforms, and that should make a better user experience for our code-loving friends, as well as the rest of us.

Update: Er, apparently there's no unified API framework as reported elsewhere and repeated here. Move along, folks. And thanks, Joel, for that heads up. (We're feeling a bit like ol' Michael Scott when he followed his GPS straight into the lake, but these things happen.)

We've made mention that Verizon was working on its LTE network earlier this year, and now it appears the big V is releasing network specifications so hardware developers can start designing phones capable of using the 4G network.

The specifications provide guidelines for both access and data transport for LTE-capable devices. A web conference will be hosted by Verizon on May 13 to discuss the specifications in more detail.

The company plans a commercial roll-out of LTE starting in 2010. LTE trials have the 4G network generating 60Mbps real-world speed (about 30x faster than a good 3G connection). Along with Verizon, AT&T is planning for a 4G network in 2011.

Via PhoneScoop.com and Electronista

Windows Mobile 6.5 has been "announced," and apparently we're getting closer to "launch." The Windows Mobile Team Blog [via ZDNet] notes that there will be a "kickoff launch presentation" on May 11 at the start of TechEd 09.

Stephanie Ferguson, GM of Business Experiences at Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business is going to deliver the kick off launch presentation of Windows Mobile 6.5 on Monday, May 11th at 1:00PM – 2:15PM. This Tech Ed 2009 session focuses on one of the biggest launches in the history of Windows Mobile – Windows Mobile 6.5. It is targeted at both IT Professionals and Developers, with a cool demo and an outline of great stuff to come.

What's this mean for you, the consumer? Probably not much (though it'll certainly give us something to write about). There are launches, and then there are launches. Windows Mobile 6.5 still has to officially make it to the manufacturers (not everyone can use a leaked ROM, you hackers), and so we're still not expecting and devices to get sanctioned upgrades until the fall.

But chugging forward at any speed is better than spinning our wheels.