[General Questions and Answers] 8525Smart:
I've been spending a while searching for a good Twitter app for WinMo in order to find something that fits me. Unfortunately, I didn't have much luck searching for others' advice, so I began combing the Internet basically trying out every app that caught my eye. I noticed a bunch of people on the XDA forum asking questions about the best Twitter app and I made this topic in hopes of helping others out.

Anyway, below are my assessment of all the Twitter apps I tried. I'll give a summary first for anyone who doesn't want to read through, but after that, read on.

Summary: If anybody is looking for my opinion on the best Twitter based on various attributes, here it is:

Best Appearance - moTweets

Best Speed - TouchTwit

Best Lightweight - Twobile

Best Compromise - Twikini

As for me, I prefer just using the HTC Twitter in TF3D, but when using a ROM without Sense 2.5, I do prefer MoTweets. For everyone else who don't want any of the ones I mentioned, read on, and I hope you find what you're looking for.

1) moTweets - This is probably one of the best WinMo Twitter apps around. The visuals is great (probably the best looking Twitter app I've seen) and the usability is fantastic. Doing anything simply requires you to double tap on a tweet (or tap an icon to tweet yourself). Unfortunately, the disadvantage to moTweet is that there is a noticeable bit of lag, but nothing bad. The free version of the app also comes with ads.

2) PockeTwit - This is a fairly good app. The appearance is a bit unappealing, but the speed appears to be good. I do not like the usability very much, though. In order to do things like favorite, reply, or just tweet, you have to drag the screen to the left or to the right, which can be a bit troublesome. The program does come with a QuickPost icon, but it would have been better if it was integrated into the app itself, in my opinion.

3) Tiny Twitter - Based on the name alone, one might surmise that the program was designed as a lightweight app. Something for speed and simplicity. At least, that was what I had presumed.

Well, the app certainly is simple. There are no visual frills and tweets are listed in small boxes allowing for many, many tweets to be displayed on the screen at a time. All commands are set in the 'Menu' button and there doesn't appear to be a context menu or double tap menu. On the other hand, Tiny Twitter just isn't very fast. Drag-scrolling has noticeable lag and trying to do a long drag-scroll makes it even more obvious. It isn't so slow as to be a deal breaker, though, so if simplicity is necessary for you, then Tiny Twitter isn't a bad deal.

P.S. On quirk I noticed about Tiny Twitter. When it had updated with new tweets, my phone had a small sound go off (not very distinctive), and my phone began vibrating like crazy with nothing to indicate why. For a moment, I had thought it was about to brick itself for some reason.

Then the vibrating stopped and a message popped up saying I had new tweets. :D

4) TouchTwit - A very slick looking Twitter app and very speedy. I do mean very speedy too as going through tweets or moving from screen to screen was just lightning fast. Performing commands requires you to drag the screen to the right, but doing it here is easy and quick, so I don't mind too much.

5) Twikini - Twikini is not the best looking nor does it have the best usability. Sad to say, it doesn't have the best speed either. However, I can compliment it as probably the best compromise between all three. It is fairly fast, the visuals works well, and the usability is pretty nice. Tweeting is as simple as hitting the 'Tweet' button, replying is done by tapping on a tweet then hitting 'Reply'. Every other available command can be done through the 'Menu' button.

Only disadvantage to this is that it costs $4.95.

6) Twaddle - This is a very awkward app.

Unlike the other Twitter apps on the list, signing in to Twitter requires you to launch a web browser to enter your Twitter account info in order to grant access to Twaddle, and get a pin which you must then input into Twaddle in order to complete authorization.

This awkwardness continues into the program. For example, to drag the screen down to look at more replies, you have to drag the screen, and then let go before the app will actually move. Alternative, you can use the scroll bar to move, but it's not very finger friendly. Furthermore, commands are split between the 'Menu' button, and holding down on a tweet until the context menu pops up, but curiously, there appears to be no obvious way to favorite. Even more strangely, double tapping on a tweet causes the programs to slowly scroll up.

The appearance is fairly nice and the speed is good, but personally, I feel that the app is just too awkward.

7) Quakk - In all honesty, I can not recommend this Twitter app.

The appearance is poor (with oversized tweets) and there appears to be a distinct lack of commands. In fact, the only commands I could find at all was Reply, Direct Message, Open Link, and Tweet. Furthermore, the app seems to be very buggy.

Hitting the 'Update' button occasionally causes the app to crash and trying to Tweet/Reply will result in this small window (that overlaps text; this may be a result of my Fuze's resolution, but I found nothing about system requirements on Quakk's website). Fortunately, the 'Direct Msg' command doesn't seem to have the same problem. Unfortunately, that's because the 'Direct Msg' command doesn't seem to work at all.

Overall, I would rate Quakk very poorly at the moment, but it is listed as an 'open source' app, so it may get better later on.

8) Twitula - Twitula is an app with nice visuals (including interesting transition effects) and it seems to be feature-rich. Performing commands on a tweet is as simple as tapping on the Tweeter's profile pic while there is also a 'Tweet' and 'Menu' button for other necessary commands.

The only issue I noticed with this is speed. Drag-scrolling is very slow and you notice lag in other parts of the app too. Furthermore, the app seems to open all links in PIE despite me having Opera Mobile as my default.

9) mTweets - One of the more simple Twitter apps on the list. In fact, it seem to match Tiny Twitter in simplicity, and the speed is certain better.

Furthermore, it has one of the most unique interfaces of any Twitter app I tried. Tapping on a tweet doesn't highlight it or bring up a context menu, but it displays a new window showing a series of icons which indicates commands, such as reply or direct msg. The tweets are also contained in small windows that looks almost like frames, which is a bit disorientating.

However, the app is missing some common commands (favorite, for example), and it appears to have stability issues. Frequently, I would find that it would take indefinitely when I try to update or switch to another view, and just updating it would take a very long time. Lastly, scrolling in this app is not easy. You can't drag-scroll and scrolling by scrollbar doesn't move the screen until you let go, which is annoying.

10) Twobile - Another 'simplicity app'.

Twobile has an interface similar to that of Tiny Twitter. Tweets are presented in a 'Excel' manner with the left side naming the Tweeter and the right side containing their status; all of this comes in small lines allowing for many tweets to be displayed.

Unlike Tiny Twitter, the speed of Twobile is much, much better, and it comes with a bit more functionality. In Twobile, you can double tap on a tweet, and it'll bring up a screen containing more information about the tweet, and allow you to perform various commands (including, interestingly enough, a 'Translate' command). This detailed screen also allows you to switch to a newer or older tweet, albeit the transition effect is a bit ugly.

The program also has a context menu containing common commands and an 'Action' button listing all of the available commands. Switching between views (public, friends, etc) is also as simple hitting one of the visible tabs at the bottom.