So, there isn’t really a battle of epic proportions between software dev’s, but there certainly is debate over what Twitter apps get the job done for Android powered phones. It seems that every app has something that’s keeping it from being the “cock of the walk.”
So, here are my reviews of my top three Twitter apps for Android:
Twidgit Lite (http://disretrospect.com/twidgit/)
Twidgit Lite is a nice widget that sits on your home screen and allows you to view new tweets, tweet, re-tweet, reply, send a direct message, mark favorites and navigate to links in an external browser. Overall, it has a very sleek UI that is very user-friendly. Its settings allow you to choose whether you want notifications on the arrival of new tweets and how frequently you want it to refresh.
Although it is a useful widget, it does however lack some key features. You can’t view or link to profiles, see your direct messages, or upload media to Twitpic, Yfrog, or other services. Also, it only uses one account, and when you remove the widget from the home screen, it removes your user data. So, you must provide your login data every time you have to re-populate it to your home screen (Which isn’t too bad, at least you know it’s not storing your personal info).
So, it’s Twitter at the core, without all the bells and whistles. But for what it can do, it does it fairly well.
7/10
Swift (http://www.swift-app.com)
Swift is a Twitter app that has most everything that you could ask for. The essentials are all there (tweet, re-tweet, direct message), and you can even see your latest mentions, your direct messages and view profiles. You can even search key words in the Twitter world and it shows you the trending topics on start up. Swift’s preferences allows you to set optional notifications, data encryption, what service you want to use for media uploads (pictures and video), and gives you the option to open links and hash-tags within Swift (instead of the external browser).
With all the customization Swift has to offer, there a few things that hold it back. I find the load time to be sluggish and not very “swift” at all. It could be my local T-Mobile service, but I have seen it commented on by others. With its loading style, it loads the timeline, mentions, and direct messages all separately when you view them. Swift also has no multi-account support, which for me isn’t a clincher, but some Android-users have this as priority for their Twitter apps.
Despite protracted load times, Swift has a very high functionality if you use it on Wi-Fi and loads of features.
8/10
TwitterRide (http://twitterride.net/)
My top pick for best Twitter app is TwitterRide. TwitterRide is a nice, neat Twitter app for everyone. Just like Swift, it covers all the basics (tweet, re-tweet, reply, direct message) and view all your messages, mentions, post images (TwitPic), follow links, trending topics and hash tags. Within the app settings you can choose (just like the other two) to add notifications on new tweets, new mentions, new direct message, and couple other features.
As far as flaws, TwitterRide is lacking a multi-account support and ability to upload videos. Which really isn’t key for my needs, but some would enjoy.
I thoroughly enjoy Twitter ride, its quick load times and all the capabilities.
9/10
All there are my picks for the Top 3 Twitter apps for Android. All these apps can be downloaded from the Android Market, and more information can be found on their developer-dedicated websites.
Got a pick that I didn’t list? Comment and let everyone else know what else is out there.
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