TechCrunch: Twitter buying TweetDeck

Rumors are flying around that Twitter has purchased TweetDeck, the popular Twitter client that originally started out on iPhone and the Mac. There's no confirmation from either company yet, but a purchase like that would obviously have a big effect on the Twitter client landscape. TechCrunch says a source tells them that Twitter is simply making the purchase to cut off UberMedia from buying the app itself.

Twitter purchased the Tweetie client last year, and as you may know, Tweetie essentially became the official Twitter for iPhone client and the Twitter for Mac client. Given the widespread adoption of the Adobe AIR-driven TweetDeck app, it's not hard to see that Twitter might make the desktop TweetDeck client official (keeping in mind that there's no official Windows app at the moment). But the question is what might happen to the TweetDeck for iPhone app? Will it get deleted entirely or get rolled up into the main Twitter app?

No idea. At any rate, whatever happens, we'll have to wait for the official announcement of the acquisition. If the deal is really happening, the future of a popular Twitter client might be up in the air.