Twitter Top Ten: Apple News

With the new iPhone, more Retina-screened MacBooks and even an iPad mini tipped to be just months away, we thought now would be the perfect time to help keep you up-to-date with everything Apple by suggesting our top ten Twitter users for all things Apple.

We've tried to go for a mix of individuals, tech news sites and even an Apple legend, too. So, in no particular order, here is the IBTimes UK's Top Ten Apple Twitter Users (catchy).

MacRumors

The award for best Apple rumour website has to go to MacRumors, for providing up-to-date coverage from a huge range of Apple blogs and mainstream news outlets, live blogs of the major Apple announcements and an enormous forum full of Mac and iOS users.

MacRumors' Twitter account tweets links to all stories posted by the site, and its sister account MacRumorsLive tweets every few seconds from all the major Apple product launches and press events.

With nearly half a million followers across the two accounts, MacRumors is the perfect place to start for any Apple-mad Twitter user.

Josh Topolsky

Topolsky was the editor in chief of technology blog Engadget between 2009 and 2011, and has been the technology correspondent for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon since 2009.

Having left Engadget in March 2011, Topolsky and his team of tech journalists launched This Is My Next, which later became The Verge, a new tech website covering news and product reviews, as well as hosting a podcast and pre-recorded chat show.

The Verge launched in November 2011, with journalists contributing from the US and Europe, and with Topolsky as the founding editor in chief.

Topolsky tweets several times a day, linking to content on The Verge and chatting more informally about the technology he uses with his 85,000 followers.

Walt Mossberg

Starting as a reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal in 1970, Walt Mossberg spent 18 years covering national and international affairs, before moving to technology, and his Personal Technology column has appeared in the paper every Thursday since 1991.

Along with fellow WSJ journalist Kara Swisher, Mossberg hosts the annual D: All Things Digital conference, where they have interviewed technology greats like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs - who appeared on the show together in 2007.

On Twitter, Mossberg, 65, has more than 365,000 followers and tweets regularly about his work at the WSJ and its All Things D technology site. Mossberg is always one of the very first journalists to get his hands on new Apple products, so his reviewers are worth looking out for soon after new devices are announced.

David Pogue

Another veteran technology journalist, David Pogue, 49, has written or co-written seven of the For Dummies books, including Macintosh Computers for Dummies.

In 1999, Pogue launched his own series of how-to computer books called Missing Manual, which now includes over 100 titles offering help with Macintosh and Windows software, products and more.

Pogue wrote the World According to Twitter in 2009, with help from around 500,000 of his Twitter followers, and he now has more than 1.4 million followers.

Not just tweeting his own work, Pogue shares example of technology journalism from many websites and his posts strike a balance between personal and professional.

MuscleNerd

Moving to the slightly darker world of iOS jailbreaking and unlocking, we have the anonymous MuscleNerd, who is a member of one of the most influential iPhone jailbreaking and development teams.

Tweeting breaking news about iOS unlocking and applications that aren't available in Apple's App Store, MuscleNerd is a must-follow for anyone who is interested in jailbreaking and wants links to the newest - and safest - unlocking software.

MuscleNerd has more than 360,000 followers, which goes some way to show how popular jailbreaking still is, despite how vast the App Store has become.

TUAW

Less of a news site and more of a blog full of features and tutorials, The Unofficial Apple Weblog is an Apple-only website updated with several new stories and features every day.

TUAW's Twitter account tweets every few hours with links to new content on the site and occasionally tweets interesting or funny Apple-related messages from other users, too.

The TUAW website covers news, product and app reviews, a how-to section, galleries of new products, and a page advertising deals on Apple hardware and accessories.

With 105,000 followers, TUAW isn't as big as MacRumors, but offers more in-depth features rather than just breaking Apple news.

Apple App Store

Apple's App Store has its own verified Twitter account for tweeting links to new applications and games, and also alerts its followers to apps with discounted prices.

The account retweets developers when they offer money off applications, so be sure to follow this account to keep on top of when apps are at their cheapest.

App Store's Twitter account also encourages its followers to tweet their favourite applications, which will then be retweeted, so with more than 1.1 million followers, being tweeted by this account is a great form of free advertising for the developers - especially since it tweets many times a day.

Andy Ihnatko

A technology journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times, Ihnatko is another American writer who gets very early access to Apple products, so his reviews are often among the first to offer in-depth commentary of new products from the company.

Ihnatko is a regular guest on the MacBreak Weekly and TWiT podcasts, both run by Leo Laporte's TWiT podcast network in the US.

Ihnatko uses Twitter to publicise his work, but also as a platform to engage with followers and talk about the technology he uses in a light hearted and amusing way.

Recent tweets include:

"My plan: 1) Trick Apple into suing me; 2) Put Apple designers on the stand; 3) Make them show me iPad Mini. Ideally, next week."

"Watching women's soccer. Each team wearing a single bright, primary color. It's like watching a 1990-era video game."

Steve Wozniak

Present and even former Apple executives are something of a rarity on Twitter, but co-founder Steve Wozniak makes an exception.

With his seemingly hourly Foursquare check-ins you'd be forgiven for thinking Woz spends his entire life in airports and restaurants, but the Apple legend enjoys to mingle with fans and queue up outside his local Apple Store whenever major new products are launched, which he live-tweets.

We'd love Wozniak to tweet more than just a list of places he's eaten at recently, so we're hoping when Apple announces the new iPhone - and maybe that iPad mini everyone is talking about - Woz might take a break from checking in and give his 122,000 followers some thoughts on the new products.

If checking into restaurants is your thing, then Woz gives tips and mini reviews on everywhere he visits to his 10,400 Foursquare followers.

Patently Apple

Like most other technology companies, Apple files a huge number of patents detailing future designs, and the Patently Apple website publishes the most interesting to give readers a glimpse of what future Apple products might look like.

While offering no more than a stream of links to stories published on its website, the Patently Apple Twitter account is worth following for when you fancy looking at Apple's plans for an iPad Smart Cover with a second screen, for example, or to keep up with some of the major intellectual property lawsuits Apple faces.

Don't expect many replies or retweets to come from this automated account, but for the content of its site alone, the account is worth following - as 5,500 users already are doing.