Quick App: Twitbit Push Notification Twitter Client for iPhone
Twitbit [$4.99 - iTunes link] is a Twitter client for the iPhone and iPod touch that provides built-in push notification for @mentions and direct messages (DMs).
For those of you still reading — those didn’t immediately jump over to grab it — what this means is you get all the functionality you’ve come to expect — reading, posting, multiple accounts, start and stop following, searching, trends, user profiles, reply chains, etc. etc. and you get any @mentions and DMs pushed straight to you without the need for an extra enabler app (which most other Twitter clients currently require).
The folks at High Order Bit were gracious enough to give us a sneak peak to try out, and I’ve been using it pretty much non-stop since. And… I’ve found all the functionality I need and then some. The push works wonderfully as well. So far, so fast.
One thing I particularly liked (but others may not) is that, when you get multiple @mentions or DMs, rather than having the latest obliterate the previous text alert (fix that by implementing a genius stacking system, will you Apple?), Twitbit collates them up. You don’t get to see the contents of the latest message, but you do get to see “X new @mentions and X new DMs” (see screenshot below). At least you have some idea of volume.
Of course, iPhone notifications being interruptive as they are, there’s still a chance something will pop up while you’re watching a movie or playing a game…
Given that limitation, more granularity as to who and what Twitbit pushes would be grand — and it’s likely forthcoming in an update — but wow are these young upstart devs and apps giving the entrenched Twitter clients a race for their functionality.
If you want an amply functioning Twitter client with built-in push notifications, take a serious look at Twitbit and let us know what you think.
Tons of screenshots after the break!
July 15th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
This is awesome… about time a Twitter app incorporated push…
July 15th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
I prefer BoxCar, just as awesome, but cheaper.
July 15th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
I like Boxcar, I want to see my messages. I also love that it directly opens Tweetie for me to view. Plus it is half the price! Works great.
July 15th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Boxcar is great, I use it for Tweetie or Twitterrific, but it’s NOT half the price. It’s the cost of Boxcar + Tweetie or Twitterrific, both of which will likely add their own push support in a forthcoming update. So, if you love one or both of those apps and already bought them and want a push now, now, now, Boxcar is a great stop gap.
If you want an all-in-one client+push, Twitbit (and likely others that follow) is great.
July 16th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Just one tiny thing about the article, something I see in a lot of tech articles, when using acronyms, in the first use of the acronym such as DM, please clarify what it is. I’m assuming since there are multiple mentions, that it means Direct Mention.
July 16th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Ah found it (http://kikolani.com/twitter-lingo-tips-twitter-facebook-users.html) Direct Message.
July 16th, 2009 at 2:13 am
Just wanted to drop in and say thanks to everyone above who posted comments about Boxcar. I appreciate it!
-j (the creator of Boxcar). =)
July 16th, 2009 at 5:26 am
i use twitter alotttt!!! very useful in my opion
July 16th, 2009 at 8:04 am
I think the combination of Boxcar and Twitterific Premium is the way to go. iTwitter is very nice, but the other clown has to be using it in order for Push to work… TwitBit is nice, but not nice or pleasing to look at. But it does incorporate Trends, which I find very cool.
July 16th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Would b perfect if I could figure out how to retweet with one button do I have to copy paste every time I want to retweet?
July 16th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Might as well just get im+ as it has Twitter push as well.
July 16th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
@ Miles: IM+ is like 9.99 even though I got it when they did a special .99 sale a few months back. I don’t use it that often besides the Gtalk and Facebook chat, but would rather see Tweetie come out with push that gives even friends feeds not just DM/mentions.
July 16th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
@Tone: Retweet was MIA in version 1.0 but is in version 1.0.1, which will hopefully make it into the App Store soon…
July 16th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
For me it is taking like 20 mins for a push notification on a mention
July 16th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Thanks Rene!
July 16th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I keep getting the same push notification from this App every 5min or so. Super annoying. Anyone else experiencing issues with this?