Ranking the BlackBerry Twitter clients

How many ways can you Tweet on your BlackBerry? Plenty, thanks to the swath of BlackBerry Twitter clients which have popped up lately. Over the summer we looked at a good number of these, looking for both basic and advanced functionalities. What we ended up with was a huge collection of articles on different clients. Now it’s time to put them together. After using each client for a week — or more, if we liked it — we’ve assembled a list of the top BlackBerry Twitter clients. We’ll be adding more to this soon. In fact, look for an updated TwitterBerry review in the near future. Once it’s up, it’ll find its way onto this list. NOTE: Apparently we’re being hated on for not including SocialScope. Sorry, guys, but when you download SocialScope you agree not to write about it. Such is life with beta applications.

7. BBTweet

Ranking these clients wasn’t easy, but placing BBTweet in the final spot was a no-brainer. That might sound harsh, but it’s not intended as a swipe at the folks who have worked hard on this client. Rather, it’s a testament to the myriad features included in the other clients which are absent in BBTweet. Hey, someone’s got to finish last. BBTweet is aimed at the more casual Twitter user. It integrates your timeline into the Messages application, making for easy retrieval. Another benefit is a more stripped-down client. It takes up very little space on your device, and it doesn’t take forever to update your timeline. The only thing the application really does is update your status. Again, a plus for non-hardcore users. Check out the full review of BBTweet.

6. Blackbird

Blackbird is another BlackBerry Twitter client with only basic functions, but its interface might be easier to handle than BBTweet. Instead of integrating with your Messages app, Blackbird has its own, bare interface. It lists your timeline, allowing you to view them and then easily reply. There are some shortcomings with Blackbird, most notably the difficulty of retweeting. Yes, it’s not something everyone does (but it sure seems like it), but to copy and paste the tweet and enter in the RT @username part is a bit of a pain. Still, for those who want a stripped down Twitter interface that looks somewhat like the Web version, Blackbird delivers. Check out the full BBGeeks Blackbird review.

5. Twibble

Now we’re onto the more full-featured clients. The first up is Twibble, one I enjoyed very much while reviewing. It has a number of places you can customize the interface, including the ability to not load avatars. If you do load avatars, it can be a slow experience, but if you choose to go text-only, Twibble is quite fast. It has easy access to features like reply, retweet, following, and unfollowing. What holds Twibble back is the search function. I performed a number of searches, and each time I had to shut down Twibble and restart. Otherwise, I couldn’t find my way back to my own timeline. Apparently there is a way to do it, but it’s not intuitive. I’ll put that half on me and half on them. The only other gripe is the lack of a dedicated place to view your replies (mentions) and direct messages. Other than that, Twibble definitely delivers a user-friendly Twitter experience. Check out the full Twibble review.

4. Tiny Twitter

Tiny Twitter is labeled as a stripped-down client, but it has most of the features in the supposedly fuller Twitter apps. It also runs relatively fast, a bit faster than Twibble in my experience, hence the higher ranking. Then again, as of the last time I tried it, sending pictures didn’t work too well. Or, really, at all. Hopefully this gets fixed in future updates. What I really liked about Tiny Twitter is the intuitiveness of the interface. Everything was right where it was supposed to be. That made doing the write-up super easy. Tweeting, retweeting, replying, and direct messaging was perfect. Even following and unfollowing was easy, though to follow new users involves a little process. Nevertheless, Tiny Twitter is an eminently usable Twitter client that doesn’t take up too much memory on your Berry. Check out the full Tiny Twitter review.

3. TweetCaster

TweetCaster came a bit late to the party, but it delivered a full-featured Twitter experience for BlackBerry. This comes as no surprise — it was developed by Handmark, which also created Pocket Express. As with most things Handmark, I enjoyed TweetCaster. The top navigation bar really helps move things along, making it easy to view your direct messages, replies, and profile. As I mentioned in the full review, there was only one big issue I had with TweetCaster: automatic refreshing of your timeline. It’s not a big deal while actively using the client, since you can just hit the update button — it’s front and center, so you can’t miss it. But when leaving it running while moving about, it’s kind of a pain to have to hit the Update button every time. I’m told this will be addressed in an update. The app also runs a little slow, which is what keeps it out of the second slot. Check out the full TweetCaster review for all the details.

2. TwiXtreme

How happy must I have been to review TwiXtreme a couple of weeks ago? I was about to write up this compilation, but then came across this one. It’s a full featured client, with easy access to the basic functions. Even better, it has an automatic update feature which seemingly works constantly. It lets you know how many new tweets reside in your queue, and you can hit one button to add them to your timeline. The load time on the app was fast, faster than most of the above-listed apps — and even faster than the No. 1 client, meaning that this one is probably the fastest of all those rated here. The menu is perfectly laid out, listing all relevant functions. Viewing replies and direct messages is a breeze. In fact, this app is so intuitive that they didn’t even include an Options menu. It works perfectly out of the box. Make sure to check out the full TwiXtreme review for the whole low-down.

1. UberTwitter

Here it is, the king of Twitter applications. This is not only because of the full-featured nature of the beast, but also because of popularity. I talk to BlackBerry users all the time, and UberTwitter is by far the most-used application in my experience. And with good reason: other than some load-time issues, it’s one killer app. The best part about UberTwitter is the timeline interface. It resembles many Web-based Twitter clients. I use TwitterFox through my browser, and it emulates that well. It integrates all forms of tweets — replies, retweets, and direct messages — perfectly within the interface. The only complaint is the time it takes to load things up. But with such a full-featured application, that’s bound to happen. They’re always making updates, even ones that help spare your poor battery. Make sure to check out the full UberTwitter review. It’s a doozy. So much you can do with this app.

About the Author

Joe Pawlikowski is the Senior Editor at MobileMoo.com and has been covering the mobile industry full time since 2007. When he's not writing about the tech scene, he can be found discussing his personal love - baseball (and more specifically the New York Yankees) as well as writing on his personal blog.