Twitter for BlackBerry is finally nearing public release, but we’ve managed to get in on the beta early to test whether it’s the saviour of social media apps on BlackBerry OS. We put it head to head against our two other favourites on BlackBerry App World, Seesmic and UberTwitter to find out which is best. Read on to find out!
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Looks
Seesmic is as plain as they come on the BlackBerry, with a single, simple white column, and UberTwitter only throws in a small splash of colour to differentiate itself. Twitter for BlackBerry smashes both to pieces in this respect: it’s by far the best looking Twitter client on the platform, with a clean UI that resembles the excellent Facebook BlackBerry app. Important categories are accessible via icons in a row along the top, so you can drill down into @replies, DMs, profile settings and more without the need for ugly BlackBerry text menus.
Winner: Twitter for BlackBerry
Twitter for BlackBerry: all the details!
Stability
Stability has been the biggest bug bear for us with BlackBerry Twitter clients so far. TwitterBerry and Seesmic both tend to crash like Dodgems, and while UberTwitter fairs a little better, it still has a habit of pretending to load for minutes on end, only solved by closing and opening again. From our testing so far, Twitter for BlackBerry has proved much more stable: we’ve had no crashes or freezes so far, and you can comfortably leaving it ticking away in the background with no visible performance dip.
Winner: Twitter for BlackBerry
Speed
Unfortunately, Twitter for BlackBerry falls down on this quite crucial element. Loading over a full 3G reception on a Blackberry Bold 9700 can be absolutely glacial, for no clear reason. Sometimes refreshes are nippy, but profile pictures arrive several minutes late persistently. What’s worse is that when you flick from one column to another and back again, it reloads it entirely, so best of luck with a 2G BlackBerry. UberTwitter isn’t much quicker loading over 3G either. Seesmic on the other hand loads streams quickly and switches between @replies and DMs with grace. It’s just a shame it crashes so often.
Winner: Seesmic
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Extra features
No BlackBerry Twitter client can compare to the column juggling offerings on the iPhone, let’s be honest. But as the best of a bad bunch, Twitter for BlackBerry wins. RIM’s spent its time crafting the Twitter for BlackBerry app, and it shows here. While all three support picture uploading, only Twitter for BlackBerry has an option straight from the app home screen. We’re also big fans of its layout for trending topics, with font sizes dependent on volume. Unfortunately, the ability to search for tweets in your area doesn’t work yet, but it should do on launch. But crucially, it also integrates with the BlackBerry message inbox, so direct messages drop in like emails or instant messages. We’d love to see @replies appearing there too, but it’s already got the competition beat here.
Winner: Twitter for BlackBerry
Overall: Twitter for BlackBerry
Twitter for BlackBerry won most rounds, but RIM seriously needs to boost the speed before public launch. If it can, Twitter for BlackBerry will be essential, but until then, anyone without the patience of a Buddhist monk might want to stick with UberTwitter or Seesmic.
