You know that I'm a Twitter addict. I have three accounts with a combined following of about 20,000 people. And I've used every single Twitter app in the App Store.
At the end of the day, I'm always recommending Tweetie - $2.99 worth of app goodness that I've never regretted parting with. While other Twitter apps seem to focus on adding features that bloat the software and make navigation confusing, Tweetie is all about simplicity without sacrificing features.
Now, as I'm happy to be the first to tell you, Tweetie 2 for iPhone is coming soon. Continue reading for lots of information on what this completely rebuilt and revamped app has to offer.
The one-man show behind Tweetie is Loren Brichter, and I swear - I have no idea when this dude sleeps. He's been pushing out betas of the new release more often than I can count. And now 8 betas later, he's almost ready to send Tweetie in for Apple's approval, which, we have to hope will be quick and painless.
You need to have Tweetie on your iPhone. Trust me when I tell you this - Tweetie is the first icon on the first page of my iPhone. I put a lot into my thought process when it comes to what icons go where and for a 3rd party app to occupy the first space on my iPhone, well, it's a bigger deal than I can really explain.
And don't even get me started - right now - on the awesomeness that is Tweetie for Mac. This desktop Twitter application blows Tweetdeck away.
I love this story from Loren on his blog:
"Ten months ago I was a big shot with 20 Twitter followers. In my spare time I wrote this app called Tweetie because I wasn't satisfied with the current state of Twitter clients. A few people bought it. Then a few more bought it ... I had no idea it would become so successful. I think it had something to do with the fact that it embraced the iPhone interface philosophy. Many other apps reinvented their own wheel, Tweetie did it the Apple way..."
Any good app needs to have someone who believes in the product. Loren is the master of customer service, always making sure he interacts with people on Twitter and via e-mail. It's how I got to know him and it's one of the key reasons I continue to recommend it.
So what will you get in Tweetie 2? What you won't get it a few added features, a new version number and a big announcement. No, you'll get what's clearly been a labor off love for Loren.
Tweetie 2 is built from the ground up and is OS 3.0+ only. Loren says he needed to do that to make the app as feature-rich and updated as possible.
Here's a list of some -- key word is some -- of what you can expect in Tweetie 2. Believe me, there's more. I am still taking it all in - I don't know what everything does yet but I'm exciting about each and every one.
--Caching tweets for offline reading, plus much more. Tweetie 2 will remember where you are in the app. Say you are viewing a conversation of a tweet of a recent mention of one of your followers, You can quit the app, and when you come back, everything is right where you left it.
--Offline mode: Favorite, follow, block and more all while offline. Next time you connect, all of those actions will be synced back up.
--Drafts manager. Loren gives a perfect example for me here in Chicago. You can compose tweets and DMs while you're on the subway, and blast them out simultaneously as soon as you get out.
--You can link up Twitter users to contacts in your iPhone Address Book, including email addresses, phone numbers, and more. When you sync your phone, all of that is backed up for you.
--Threaded conversations: I LOVE this from the Mac version.
--Tab bar notifications so you can see at a glance if you have new items.
--The function that allows you to see nearby tweets is totally revamped and cooler.
--Saved searches now sync with Twitter.com and the upcoming Tweetie 2 for Mac.
--Completely overhauled compose screen. It features a @people picker, recent hashtags, multiple attachments manager, and a "peek" gesture when replying to a tweet.
--Full landscape support. Horizontal tweeting might sound dirty, but oh it's not ;-)
--Ability to edit your Twitter profile
--Vastly improved gesture shortcuts
--In-app rich-text email
--New-style retweet support
--Refresh-all on launch
--TextExpander
--Read it Later integration
--Autocomplete recent searches
--Autocomplete go-to-user
--Improved avatar caching
--Inline Twitlonger
--Reply chain list view
--Preview short urls
--Tweet translation,
--Block+follow from multiple accounts at once
--Refresh tweets with a spring function that's too cool to explain here.
In his blog post, Loren then talks about how simple Tweetie is in offering all of this increased functionality. If you've used Tweetie before, then you know what I'm talking about. Somehow, Loren finds a way to cram all of this into an elegant package - and like I mentioned before, I can think okf 3 other Twitter apps off the top of my head that do just the opposite, making it a sea of confusion. If you've never used it, you probably won't believe from reading this that it's possible to make so much so great looking.
And Loren understands that increasing the price just because you add options is never a good idea. It's still $2.99. And like I said before, there are just a handful of apps for me that were absolutely worth the money. I kid you not when I say that I would pay $20 for Tweetie. Yes, it's that good.
Stay tuned - once Loren updates his blog, there will be more screenshots and goodies to look at.
In the meantime - please leave a comment and let me know what you think. I'll also be talking about Tweetie 2 on Twitter.
Thanks for calling.
13 Comments
sonyanews said:
Great! Def excited for tweetie2-2come. But.....I know this is small, but it bugs me so much. I really wish tweetie had a better icon. Two speech bubbles makes it look like tweetie is still in beta - which the underlying program clearly is not. Please let tweetie2 have a better icon!
Scott Kleinberg said:
There's a different icon on the beta version, so we'll see if it carries over. I think you'll enjoy it no matter what the icon is :-)
MfS said:
Hey Scott, will the update for current Tweetie users be free or are we out another $2.99 for version 2?
Scott Kleinberg said:
It will be $2.99 for the new version. I wouldn't look at it as out another $2.99. It's really more of a new app than an upgrade in my eyes.
whatev said:
LAME! I'm sorry, but it shouldn't be called Tweetie 2.0 if it isn't a free update for Tweetie 1.0. I read this post very excited (and don't get me wrong, I will buy), and now I'm disappointed. Many of these much needed updates that are just that, things that should have come in an update.
sfschier said:
I used it because of your recommendation and dumped it a couple days later. Too many API errors. Can't see dropping another $2.99.
Scott Kleinberg said:
Well, those errors were on the Twitter side and had nothing to do with Tweetie. I still strongly recommend Tweetie -- current version or 2.0 -- as the absolute best Twitter app for the iPhone.
SteveW said:
Have you tried using Twitdar? It's not a replacement for Tweetie, but a pretty nifty Twitter/GPS integration. It can send updates of your GPS location in regular intervals that you can set yourself. http://bit.ly/twitdar
Ryan Kiefer said:
Wait, so existing Tweetie users have to pay for the new version? I mean, I love Tweetie enough that I might pay anyway, but it seems a little money-grubby to charge existing users of this beloved app for the new release, even it if adds all those features.
tony morelli said:
downloaded tweetie for the mac desktop....you're right, it really works well....but, am i missing it? is there a RT option ??
Scott Kleinberg said:
Tony, I'm not in front of my laptop now, but yes - you can RT - it's called REPOST though, but it's the same. I know it's under one of the pull down menus but without being in front of it I just can't remember.
tony morelli said:
thanks for the info Scott, i knew it would be an easy "duh" answer :)
Scott Kleinberg said:
Ryan - it's more complicated than that - If you follow @tweetie on Twitter and ask about it, he can explain it a lot better than I can. But trust me, it's not about money.
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