snatefinch
08-14-2009, 09:51 AM
Design:
Twittelator is one of the better designs for an Twitter app. It has the loved bar at the bottom where you can choose the time line, mentions, or messages. You can also change the settings and view extra stuff from that bar as well. Like most Twitter apps these days, the composition button is located in the top bar along with the refresh button. It is very smooth to use, and doesn't take very long to switch from section to section. iTwitter takes a different view on how a Twitter app should look. They do not allow quick switching between different sections. Instead, you must go back to a main menu, choose the section, and repeat for other sections. This is quite annoying and slows down reading tweets on the go. Then to switch accounts you have to back one further, then forward two again. It gets very annoying. The app is not very smooth as well. The loading of tweets is quite like watching a corrupt video. It does not update all at once, but adds tweets a bit at a time. iTwitter is not a very fun app to use on the iPhone. The clear winner for design is Twittelator.
Features:
Twittelator offers a huge list of features. It offers the ability to post videos and audio to your tweets. Of course the video only works on the iPhone 3GS. You can save drafts to be able to post when you have internet, and the ability to view tweets while you are offline by caching them. You are able to post your exact location, with latitude and longitude and a link to Google maps. And one feature that is one I did not think of before it was added to Twittelator, the very nice mute feature. It allows you to mute people you are following from showing up in your time line. This comes in handy when you have someone sending a lot of drunk tweets, are just wont shut up. iTwitter touted when it was first released that they were the first to support push in a Twitter app. They however did not mention that this push feature only worked if your mentions and direct messages were coming from someone else using iTwtter as well, which basically makes it useless. iTwitter also offers GPS location tweeting, but there link does not open as nicely, as i just opens the Google Maps website of the location, and does not use the native Maps app. Itwtter does offer a nice Groups feature though, which lets you make a list of many that you want to view whenever you want. This list shows up where you choose which section you want to view. The winner for features has to be Twittelator
Usability:
One thing I always ask for in my Twitter applications is a landscape feature for entering texts, that will auto-rotate. Both of these apps answer that call to action. Twittelator seems to have many more things to do with tweets then iTwitter. It is much easier for me to enter a tweet, and it even will tell me when it has gone through. Like I said before, it is a much smoother app, and doesn't mess up my time line. iTwitter is not an app that I would want to use on a regular day to day basis, while Twittelator is one that has already been put into my regular rotation. The winner for Usability is Twittelator.
Customization:
Other then the changing of your main screen, and what groups you are able to see, iTwitter has no customization at all. There doesn't even seem to be a setting option anywhere. Twittelator lets you change almost everything though. There are three different themes, though I would like to see some themes that do more then just change the color scheme. You can change to what site, your pictures, audio, and video are posted to. You can also change what service you use to shorten your url's. Many more small little tidbits can be changed as well. Twittelator is very customizable, and I see more coming in its future. Because of that, Twittelator takes the win for Customization.
So the winner of this matchup, and the first to move on to the quarter finals is:
Twittelator
Twittelator is one of the better designs for an Twitter app. It has the loved bar at the bottom where you can choose the time line, mentions, or messages. You can also change the settings and view extra stuff from that bar as well. Like most Twitter apps these days, the composition button is located in the top bar along with the refresh button. It is very smooth to use, and doesn't take very long to switch from section to section. iTwitter takes a different view on how a Twitter app should look. They do not allow quick switching between different sections. Instead, you must go back to a main menu, choose the section, and repeat for other sections. This is quite annoying and slows down reading tweets on the go. Then to switch accounts you have to back one further, then forward two again. It gets very annoying. The app is not very smooth as well. The loading of tweets is quite like watching a corrupt video. It does not update all at once, but adds tweets a bit at a time. iTwitter is not a very fun app to use on the iPhone. The clear winner for design is Twittelator.
Features:
Twittelator offers a huge list of features. It offers the ability to post videos and audio to your tweets. Of course the video only works on the iPhone 3GS. You can save drafts to be able to post when you have internet, and the ability to view tweets while you are offline by caching them. You are able to post your exact location, with latitude and longitude and a link to Google maps. And one feature that is one I did not think of before it was added to Twittelator, the very nice mute feature. It allows you to mute people you are following from showing up in your time line. This comes in handy when you have someone sending a lot of drunk tweets, are just wont shut up. iTwitter touted when it was first released that they were the first to support push in a Twitter app. They however did not mention that this push feature only worked if your mentions and direct messages were coming from someone else using iTwtter as well, which basically makes it useless. iTwitter also offers GPS location tweeting, but there link does not open as nicely, as i just opens the Google Maps website of the location, and does not use the native Maps app. Itwtter does offer a nice Groups feature though, which lets you make a list of many that you want to view whenever you want. This list shows up where you choose which section you want to view. The winner for features has to be Twittelator
Usability:
One thing I always ask for in my Twitter applications is a landscape feature for entering texts, that will auto-rotate. Both of these apps answer that call to action. Twittelator seems to have many more things to do with tweets then iTwitter. It is much easier for me to enter a tweet, and it even will tell me when it has gone through. Like I said before, it is a much smoother app, and doesn't mess up my time line. iTwitter is not an app that I would want to use on a regular day to day basis, while Twittelator is one that has already been put into my regular rotation. The winner for Usability is Twittelator.
Customization:
Other then the changing of your main screen, and what groups you are able to see, iTwitter has no customization at all. There doesn't even seem to be a setting option anywhere. Twittelator lets you change almost everything though. There are three different themes, though I would like to see some themes that do more then just change the color scheme. You can change to what site, your pictures, audio, and video are posted to. You can also change what service you use to shorten your url's. Many more small little tidbits can be changed as well. Twittelator is very customizable, and I see more coming in its future. Because of that, Twittelator takes the win for Customization.
So the winner of this matchup, and the first to move on to the quarter finals is:
Twittelator