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Twitter Client Project: Hibari
Echofon for Mac is no longer in development. TUAW's Twitter Client Project surveys popular desktop alternatives in highly subjective reviews. Hibari (US$9.99) offers a clean, visually pleasing Twitter interface. Unfortunately, as these things go (and despite its price tag), it's not feature-complete compared to other clients currently on the market. You cannot yet load saved searches from the Twitter API, one of the most essential bits of functionality I rely on. The support page notes, "Currently, we do not sync your Hibari searches with your saved searches on Twitter.com." You cannot tweet pictures directly, as I found to my dismay. The developer has these on her to-do list, but they're not yet part of the app. I found basic bugs that probably shouldn't have gotten past a general release, especially for a $9.99 app. For example, you can type things into the built-in search field and the field does not automatically scroll to accommodate. Despite the blinking cursor, I kept typing and the field stayed stuck. The same goes for the "keyword block" and mute options I demonstrate in this video. I could not search using standard Twitter Boolean logic, and I was unable to find a global feed and/or searches for it. I pinged the developer to see if I had simply missed them, but have not yet heard back. There were also stylistic choices I wasn't fond of. You cannot hide and show the text entry field, for example. It's stuck on "always open." That takes up significant screen real estate that I'd rather use for something else. The color and font choices in the visual theme seemed to draw my eyes away from the tweets (the primary content) to the avatars (the secondary content). The app does offer clever and worthy elements like the in-line conversation expansion. Unlike other Twitter clients, it shows these details in the same window rather than using a drawer. This can lead to a sense of "Department of Redundancy Department" as you see in this screenshot. These are the reasons that Hibari won't be finding a permanent home on my Mac for now. Although I like the overall minimalism and the geek-friendly extensions built in (for details on those, see this write-up on advanced and hidden features), Hibari was less of a "wow" and more of an "I can't wait until they get to that."
Twitter Client Project: YoruFukurou
Echofon for Mac is no longer in development. TUAW's Twitter Client Project surveys popular desktop alternatives in highly subjective reviews. The YoruFukurou Twitter client (Free) has been designed by geeks for geeks. Packed with customizable features, it bears all the hallmarks of design-by-engineer. Anyone searching for precise end-user control will gladly find options for many display and notification tweaks. You can set up multiple Twitter accounts, control keyword highlighting and much more. What the app doesn't deliver, in my opinion, is a sophisticated design aesthetic, either in usability or the visual layout. Although it's blessed by one of the cutest icons possible, that same quality of visuals hasn't transferred to the app itself. I found the app window cluttered, confusing and lacking in refinement. I was put off by many of the app's default design choices, such as highlighting mentions in red. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to simplify an app, polishing it to the point where features are obvious and follow the user's desires. YoruFukurou isn't one of those apps. It's got most of the features you expect in a Twittter client but the flow in scanning, reading, replying and following conversations left me unimpressed. It took me forever to discover how to view conversations (Conversations icon in the primary toolbar, Timeline > Conversations, or Command-3), an approach I felt was unintuitive. I had expected conversation choices to be tied to individual tweets, not to be placed among global modes. I committed to testing YoruFukurou for an entire week. During that time, I often found myself Googling to figure out how to do one thing or another. This is not the hallmark of fine design. I got through the week and I was able to use the app, but I kept sneaking back to Echofon to get the "real work" done. On the plus side, I did appreciate the app's many features. From translation to shortening links to a built-in error console, the app is packed to the gills with options that will please demanding users. The app was reliable, and seems to be built on a solid foundation. I did not experience crashing or flakiness. From what I can tell, YoruFukurou has a loyal fanbase and remains in active development. You can follow the development team at @aki and @hydroxygenic on Twitter.
The Twitter Client Project: Echofon
I love Echofon. It was among the first apps I bought for iOS, and remains to this day on my devices. When it hopped to OS X, I was delighted and immediately installed a copy. I'm still using it. Only one problem. Naan Studio discontinued it last October. It still works great, however, and probably will until Twitter drops support for its 1.0 API. My love for this no-longer-supported app, however, continues -- even if it's beginning to feel a little like appnecrophilia. Kelly H pulled me to the side, the other day. It was time for an intervention. Although TUAW has done individual reviews an any number of Twitter apps, she wanted me to start looking at popular clients with the angle of searching for a replacement. It was, she pointed out, long since time to move on from Echofon. She, another Echofon fan, had dropped it a few months ago after Naan said they would stop development. We quickly realized how individualized client choice is. There are things I love about Echofon that speak strongly to me, but may not be essential for other users: I love how I can click on the dock icon and my feed appears and disappears. It's just one click and one window. I love how the layout is vertical, with icons on the top, and tweets displayed using the full window width. I love the default fonts and whitespace. It may not be the prettiest client, but it's extra readable for those of us with bad eyes. I love the customizable notification controls, with highlight words and Growl support. I love the minimality of the interface, like the simple + button (versus, for example, the official Twitter client's huge "Save" button) that transforms searches into saved items. I love that it adds information I want like the time the tweet was posted -- missing in the official Twitter client. I love the conversation bubble integration with the side-drawer. Even better, the drawer has a history feature, so I can walk back. In the best of all worlds, of course, a public outcry would force Naan to bring Echofon for OS X back -- renewing support for a great client. (Hashtag hint: #bringBackEchofonForOSX) In this world, however, I have promised Kelly to start road testing Twitter clients. I'll be doing this slowly, probably one every week or two, and writing up my experiences. If you have any OS X clients you'd like to request I look at or features you want me to pay special attention to, drop a note on our feedback page. In the mean time, let's kick things off here in the comments. What OS X Twitter client do you use and why do you love it?
