TweetDeck for Android: Our first look and impressions

TweetDeck for Android - The Next Web

We’re assured that new features are going to be coming out in nightly builds, but for now, here’s what’s missing:

• Improved mapping
• Better handling of mutliple Twitter accounts
• Better error message handling
• Video uploading
• Deeper Android integration
• Account removal

Beyond the missing parts, however, what you’ll find is a TweetDeck experience that you’re likely very familiar with, all on your phone.

By default, TweetDeck gives you a blended home column that is color-coded for the service the message comes from:

• Black – Twitter
• Dark Blue – Facebook
• Light Blue – Foursquare
• Dark Red – Google Buzz

While this is the default, you can choose to ad new columns to your liking. The Me column, however, is pretty handy. It gives you an overview of anything that contains activity from you, whether that’s a Twitter reply, Facebook comments or Buzz activity, it’s all in a single column.

Overall the look of TweetDeck for Android is clean and really minimalist. In fact, there aren’t even timestamps on Tweets. You’ll find a clock at the top of the screen that will tell you when a message hit, and it works across all columns.

Moving around and between columns is very clean without even a moment’s hesitation on my original Droid. I’m a big fan of the Home column mode on Mobile, and it actually might make me consider it on my office computer as well.

The detail view of each message is really handy, as well. Here’s what TweetDeck has to say:

In general, images, conversation, comments, attachments and geotags get decoded from Twitter, Facebook and Buzz updates and displayed below the update in the detail view. We’ve done this to provide a quick way to view all the cool content people are posting without having to dig deep with multiple clicks.

It really seems as if TweetDeck has come out full force with everything making sense. Contacts, Notifications, the Compose screen and even Maps all fall into place exactly where they feel like they should. Even while still in Beta, there aren’t any glaring omissions that we found. It will be really exciting, moving forward, to see how the application gets its finishing touches.

If you want to get in on the beta, make sure that you have a TweetDeck account. It takes little more than an email address and a few seconds of your time via the TweetDeck site.

Best Twitter Apps for iPhone

During the iPhone's nascent stages, users had limited choices when it came to Twitter applications. But now, there are myriad services that allow you to blast 140-character tweets, and keep up with your buddies, too. So now, the problem is weeding out the pretenders from the contenders – not that we're complaining. 

So to help you decide which app is best for you, we're offering a brief overview, with ratings (on a 1-to-5-birdie scale, of course), of eight Twitter apps for iPhone. BlackBerry users, don't fret; we've got you covered, too.

Twitter

Price: Free
Ease: 5
Aesthetics: 3
Speed: 4
Options: 5
Multimedia: 4

Overall tweetability:

It took long enough for it to appear, but when it did, the official Twitter app (which is really just a revamped version of Tweetie) instantly became a fan favorite. It's not too fancy looking, but gets points for its ease of use. When composing a message, a simple button tap hides the keyboard, and lets you access tools like username and hashtag search, URL shrinking, your iPhone's camera, your photo library and geotag services. Plus, you can search trending topics and nearby tweets, just like in real life. It's simple and to the point -- just like our favorite tweets.

Echofon

Price: Free
Ease: 4
Aesthetics: 2
Speed: 4
Options: 3
Multimedia: 3

Overall tweetability

Echofon was the top dog for a while, and it's still a good choice for Twitter users who want a free and simple app. The navigation bar runs across the bottom of the feed, and, while its options may be limited as compared to other apps (with its lack of URL-shortener, for example), there's something to be said for such a simple and clean interface. It's not as thorough as Twitter's app, but great for beginners.

Tweetdeck

Price: Free
Ease: 5
Aesthetics: 5
Speed: 4
Options: 5
Multimedia: 5

Overall tweetability

There's one reason why we love Tweetdeck so much: its columnar layout, similar to Safari's on the iPhone. To start, there are columns for users you follow, @ mentions and direct messages. But Tweetdeck also lets you add columns, which is perfect for those with more than one Twitter account or for adding customized searches and your Twitter lists. If you only download one app on this list, make it Tweetdeck. 

Twitterific

Price: Free
Ease: 3
Aesthetics: 3
Speed: 2
Options: 3
Multimedia: 4

Overall tweetability

Twitterific is another clean app, with the usual tabs – tweets, mentions, messages and favorites – but also a list of trending topics underneath a search bar. Our main complaint is that the Twitter stream lags and can be slow to update. Plus, it's annoying to toggle between streams. We would much prefer a navigation bar to this app's clunky menu.

Seesmic

Price: Free
Ease: 4
Aesthetics: 3
Speed: 4
Options: 5
Multimedia: 3

Overall tweetability

Seesmic is an all-in-one social-media client for the iPhone. While that's fine, we prefer to keep our Twitters and our Facebooks from clashing in a social media brawl. However, Seesmic is well-designed, easy to navigate, supports multiple Twitter accounts and lets you hook into MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, Wordpress and countless other services. If we have any complaint, it's that, as a Twitter client, Seesmic just doesn't stand out enough, which can be a problem in the crowded app market.

HootSuite

Price: $2.99, or free for the Lite version
Ease: 4
Aesthetics: 4
Speed: 3
Options: 5
Multimedia: 4

Overall tweetability

For the person who's too busy to tweet in real time, HootSuite allows users to schedule tweets in advance. While that feature sets this app apart, we also like how easy it is to toggle between streams -- just by swiping a finger across the screen. HootSuite also offers Facebook integration, and, for pro users, lets you track the performance of your shared links. Our biggest gripe with HootSuite is the initial setup, which is too time-consuming, cluttered and not very user friendly.

Twitbird

Price: Free
Ease: 3
Aesthetics: 4
Speed: 2
Options: 3
Multimedia: 3

Overall tweetability

Twitbird is just too darn cute to leave off this list. (Just say its name out loud if you don't believe us.) It's aesthetically pleasing, and users can even customize the background of the main feed. Be warned, though: this app is pretty slow. Still, for a free app, Twitbird is stocked with options, including Facebook integration and list support. It's jut too bad they're rendered useless by the time lag. 

Brizzly

Price: Free
Ease: 2
Aesthetics: 3
Speed: 2
Options: 3
Multimedia: 5

Overall tweetability

It's about as much fun to set up Brizzly as it is to get a tooth pulled. Why on earth should we have to confirm our account via e-mail? There's not a lot to write home about once you've completed that arduous process, either. Sure, Brizzly is free, and we like how photos and videos show up in the main feed. (Note to other apps: copy that.) Other than that, you're probably better off looking elsewhere.

Top 5 Twitter Apps for iPad

When it’s not displaying the Fail Whale, Twitter is a pretty useful service for keeping up with family and friends. The first app I install on every mobile device is a Twitter app of one flavor or another, since having a good app can make all the difference to getting the most benefit out of Twitter. Fortunately, there are plenty to choose from.

The iPad screen is particularly good at working with the social network, due to its larger size. I admit I have a weakness for Twitter apps, and I’ve tried so many I have lost count. Here are my current top five Twitter apps for the iPad. If you have a favorite share it in the comments.

Twitterific Pro. This is my “go-to” Twitter app on the iPad. I use it in either portrait or landscape as it displays well in either orientation. Working with multiple Twitter accounts is easy (on the Pro version) and the app handles all standard Twitter functions. It is not as configurable as other apps, but it works very well. Users of the paid version can also install the iPhone version on that phone for free. Free and Pro ($4.99).

Tweetdeck. My favorite Twitter app for the desktop is Tweetdeck, as I find the multiple column display presents a lot of information at a glance. The iPad version is very similar, although it displays very differently. In portrait display, the top third of the screen is wasted until you tap on a tweet. That opens up the details window, which lets you do all the normal things to a tweet that you expect. Tilting the display to landscape shows the power of Tweetdeck, as it mimics the desktop version by putting a lot of information at your fingertips. Updates can be slow because of all the information in the multiple columns. Free.

Osfoora HD. Osfoora (strange name) can do virtually everything with Twitter you’d ever want to do, and has a configurable display. The display reminds me somewhat of Tweetdeck, so I’m not sure I like the wasted screen space. It’s a solid performer, and many iPad owners swear by this app, so it makes the cut. $3.99.

Twittelator. This app is one of the most attractive Twitter clients you’ll see. Twittelator looks good, but the layout can be confusing at times, because the timeline is rather small while the individual tweet window is huge in comparison. It is a full-featured Twitter client, and lots of people love it, so it’s on the list. $4.99.

Echofon Pro. Echofon adds syncing to a good Twitter app to give it a leg up on the competition. Unread tweets are synced among the iPad, iPhone and desktop so no tweet gets missed. More importantly, no tweet gets read twice due to device switching. $4.99.