By: Hillel Fuld
Before I started using a BlackBerry as my primary mobile device, I was using a basic Samsung for my phone calls and an iPod Touch for my social and Web related needs. I was using TwitterFon (now known as Echofon) as my primary Twitter client (ahem, you can follow me here), and I loved it (still do). When I unboxed my new Bold, one of the first things I downloaded was a Twitter client, which at the time, happened to have been TwitterBerry, based on what my friends were using. That did not go well.
I did a little research and read what people were saying about the best BlackBerry Twitter client, and came across UberTwitter. When I first tried it out, I did not have high expectations, I figured if it was good, why were people still using TwitterBerry. I quickly discovered that UberTwitter is not only good, it is great, and the reason people were not using it, is because they had not heard of it. This was 6 months ago, and UberTwitter has since surpassed TwitterBerry as the most popular Twitter client for BlackBerry. The reason for that? UberTwitter is pure awesome.
Not only is the actual app the best out there by far, the team behind the app are just as impressive. They work hard, invest sweat and tears making UberTwitter into what it is, and I know this because I test out every new version they release for testing, and let’s just say, I have an email folder called UberTwitter releases, and it is nice and full. The app is full of almost any feature one can ask for in a Twitter client, with some of the new additions added by Twitter itself, still in development.
So as for the actual UberTwitter app, the initial interface is super (or should I say uber) intuitive with your friends’ tweets being the main display. Once you click the Menu button, you have all the options in the world available to you. You can write a new tweet, refresh your stream, view a single tweet, see your replies and DMs, reply, reply to all, retweet, DM the person, make favorite, block, view your followers, view your timeline, search Twitter, go to a user, view trending topics, email the tweet, copy the tweet, add multiple accounts, and the list just goes on and on.
Some of the more advanced features include linking your UberTwitter to Gtalk and updating your Gtalk status with your tweets, adding your location to all tweets, pictures, or videos, changing the default font of the app, adjusting the size of the pictures in your friends’ tweets, setting interval at which the app refreshes, customization of the way the app notifies you of new tweets, replies, or DMs, as well as customizing the default photo service the app uses to share pictures.
I am pretty sure you understand by now that UberTwitter definitely packed in the features in this app, and has almost all your Twitter needs covered. However, if you are a uber geek like myself, you will want to know that there is some room for improvement. Here is a short list of the features I would like to see implemented in UberTwitter:
- Groups: I think it is pretty safe to say that most heavy users cannot effectively monitor their Twitter stream without the ability to create a user group. I, for one, have a group in my Tweetdeck called Primary, in which I add people that I regularly communicate with or who peak my interest. I follow over 5,000 people, but really closely monitor less than 500 using a group. The guys at UberTwitter are working on this feature, can’t wait to test it.
- Tweet Cache: I love the way Echofon displays how many new replies and DMs I have every time I open the app. It knows what was read already and what is new. UberTwitter does not. It notifies me when I open the app of tweets I already read. Annoying, but not a big deal, and definitely not something that would make me consider an alternative app.
- Twitter Lists: I cannot expect UberTwitter to already include the list feature, since only 20% of Twitter users even have this feature enabled, but I do, and I love it. It is going to change the game when it is fully released and UberTwitter should add it fast.
- Horizontal Scrolling: This is something available on many iPhone apps, the ability to move between columns by scrolling side to side. Why can’t UberTwitter support the ability of navigating between your timeline, replies and DMs by simply scrolling sideways? Just a thought, not sure if it is possible.
The bottom line is, most of my complaints are just me nitpicking, I love UberTwitter, and there is no competition that I am aware of. As for the team, keep up what you are doing, keep replying on Twitter to your users, keep listening and implementing customer feedback, and keep releasing new and improved versions. I will do my part, and keep spreading the word, not because you asked, but because you deserve it.
Oh, one more thing, huge congrats for making into the App World last week, maybe now you can talk to RIM about getting their App World globally distributed.
Our Rating: 4/5
Developer: UberTwitter