Tweet N'Go Pro

Tweet N'Go is another Twitter application. With there being so many now in the app store is it possible for an app to take center stage? Could this be a Twitter app that would wow users away from the one they currently use? With most of them now following the same format, it would have to be a very high quality app and one that could potentially offer users something new or unique. Additionally, with Tweetie 2 being highly anticipated, new Twitter apps have their work cut out for them. Let's have a look at what this one can offer...

Tweet N'Go Pro is described by the developers as being appropriate for the light user. It seems to want to corner the market on having an easy to use interface, so someone new to Twitter could get into it a lot easier. With that in mind though I'm not sure anyone who was a light user would pay the $2.99, but I want to check out the features and see where it has its strengths.

Good things this app offers...

The buzz most people are looking for: Push Notification for which you can alter the settings in the main phone settings panel. (When I tested this app, I did get DM's and Replies, but I didn't see any notifications. This may be a time delay or just wasn't working at the time of testing.)

SEARCHING: The search feature in the main timeline window is great. Though it doesn't remember your searches (not even what you just typed in!). The search results opens the users timeline and also has the options to reply, Retweet or Direct message them. You can also favorite their tweet. Also nice is you can click on each tweet in their timeline and the options then appear specific to that tweet, essentially so you can reply to a specific tweet which is nice. You can also unfollow the user from that window too.

INBOX AREA ...

REPLIES: If you click on the second icon in, it brings you to your "Inbox". Here at the top of the screen you have the choice between viewing your replies (default) or clicking on to any direct messages you may have received. If you do click on one of the replies in this list it then shows you the previous conversation that they are replying to. You can then also reply to them etc... all the normal options are there. This was a little slow to load initially.

DIRECT MESSAGES: The DM screen is in list format like so many other apps, and is not in my preferred 'conversation style' but it is still unique in that on the tweet that you click, you can DM them or go to their profile. That's a nice touch.

You can then also see any tweets that you have favorite'd. There did seem to be an issue where some of them appeared 3 times, but it's a minor issue that can be fixed and doesn't really make any difference to the app.

WORLD: Fourth icon in was the "world". This is actually a nice thing that most of the Twitter apps seem to miss out on having. It's nice sometimes to just take a step back and read what everyone else is tweeting.

This is especially great for a new user because it can be so difficult to get started, and into the idea who you follow is how your timeline will look. This also seems to be a chosen feed from latest news. I liked that they made a decision to give users what will essentially be both a 'clean' and useful stream.

FEEDBACK: Lastly and again unusually, they have a link to feedback on the main screen (last icon). This is a nice thing to have if they use it and read the responses they get.

Not sure why they decided to include Yelp into the screens as something for you to click. Maybe they have had some feedback that people are after this feature? For me it didn't actually do anything but maybe it does something impressive for other users.

Some things that weren't so great...

PHOTOS: When I tried to take a picture to include in the tweet, once the pic was taken the app crashed & closed. When I then went to tweet the message again, it was gone which was disappointing. Many of the apps, if they do quit unexpectedly, still have your tweet ready to be posted.

Also - you seem to be only able to send photos from the camera and NOT from your camera roll. No Camera roll? WHA? This is just a really bad omission and needs to be fixed / implemented.

Not sure how I can see my own profile as well or my timeline... that maybe would be a better use of that end icon instead of the feedback feature which I'm not sure many people will use.

Again, I might just be being picky but there is a weird delay or something about the way the keyboard & tweet screen opens when you select to write a new tweet. Again that's just minor but now when we have access to so many high caliber Twitter apps, and so many free twitter apps, I think we are demanding near perfection if we are going to pay nearly three bucks for it.

In terms of design, they are using the standard UI elements in the iPhone SDK and it could use with making something a bit more unique or polished really. When you start charging for an app users demand more, and I think a few custom UI elements would be far nicer.

FROM API?! EEK! Lastly - for me personally, I won't be using the app unless they change / fix that when you post something it says "from API". For me this is a total killer and I don't want that in my Twitter stream. Most twitter programs have "from Tweetie" or "from Echofon" etc, but as soon as I see "from API" I just think it's from some feed or generated tweet. I have actually unfollowed some people if it's all API, I just think it's generic generated tweets. This is a total app killer for me and was so disappointed when I saw it.

Worth noting that there is only support for one account, but they do say it is for the light user, so I don't think someone would expect this feature.

OVERALL...

This is a tough call, as I was using it, I was thinking that this is actually a pretty good contender, I liked some of the features it offered and was thinking they may have some nice unique app features here. I LOVED the search at the top, that's a real winner. I also liked clicking on a tweet and it brings up the user information. But the "from API" really did completely put me off it and I won't be tweeting from it at all.

I hope they fix the few issues with it and keep at it because it does have potential, but try the Free ad supported one first.

(please note all pictures are from their website and not my personal twitter account)