Pretty much where I’ve been chatty these days.  Feel free to stop on over.  Always looking for new people to exchange ideas and quips with. :)

I’ve written about the Vodafone Update app for BlackBerry before, when I had my Storm.  Didn’t work perfectly on the Storm, but it’s pretty rockin’ on my Curve 8900.  If you want to handle Facebook and Twitter from one app, this is a good option to consider.

Tried it.  Liked the look of it… simple but functional.  Uninstalled it when the keyboard shortcuts I’m used to on Ubertwitter didn’t work (or any, for that matter).  I’m used to the shortcut keys to get things done in less time.  Seesmic isn’t there yet, but it is a beta product, so I can’t fault it.  Ubertwitter has more features and is more robust as of right now.

Next…

http://twitter.com/CobraCommander

Instant follow for @CobraCommander

Fantastic article… if you’re a Twitter fiend, it’s a must-read.

crookedindifference:

(via herseaoflove)

HA

LOL this is great. What if they had Twitter back at the moon landing.

Over at the Crackberry forums, someone mentioned an application called Vodafone Update, which works pretty well on the BlackBerry Storm.  You can link your Facebook, Twitter, and Twitpic accounts to the application (it’ll launch the browser for you to log in to Facebook and Twitter to “authorize” it).  I successfully authorized these three services in the application and was able to do some testing.  Here are some random thoughts on it:

• You need to disable Compatibility Mode for the application on the Storm.  You can do this by going to Options > Applications, selecting the app, and using the menu key to bring up the menu and disable that mode.
• Vodafone Update can auto-refresh and pull Facebook status updates and tweets.  You can “Like” and comment on statuses through Update.  You can send a status update to both Facebook and Twitter simultaneously.  I found that when I unselected one, I could not write anything in the update field; probably one of the quirks since the application is not written for the Storm.  Selecting both Facebook and Twitter allowed me to write an update.
• Another quirk I found was that, when “Liking” or commenting on Facebook, I would receive a message box telling me there was a Facebook error; however, my comments and Likes still went through.
• Flipping the Storm into landscape mode does not properly resize the text box for entering status updates.  It’s a graphical annoyance.

The app won’t replace the Facebook application from RIM, but if you’d like to easily view and send Twitter and Facebook updates from within one decent application (at least SocialScope goes out of private beta, around the time the Sun dies out), Vodafone Update may be a decent, if flawed, option for you.

I use Twitter a fair amount.  I’ve gone through several clients for my BlackBerry, using TwitterBerry the most until recently.  I switched to Ubertwitter, mostly on a lark since I had used it in an earlier version and hated it.  However, the latest beta has been impressive, and I’ve seriously thinking about dropping the $4.99 on the non-advertisement version (gotta’ support mobile developers, having been one in a previous tech life).  I’ve seen some buzz regarding TwitterGenius, and I went to download it.

On their home page is a link to download the latest version.  I did so, launched it, and found a pop-up telling me my device was not authorized.  I took another look at the website, and figured the download was only to update your existing version if you purchased it already.  And I found no link to a trial version.  Because they don’t have one.

Not really smart.

So there goes one potential sell.  I’ll be sticking with Ubertwitter for now.

This has been making its way through the various RIM / BlackBerry sites:  HandMark has released a new, free Twitter client for BlackBerry devices called TweetCaster.  Some of TweetCaster’s features include supporting multiple accounts, GPS-finder, URL, shortening, and access to the Twitter trending topics.  I was intrigued by the features and was eager to test drive it; would my preferred Twitter client, Twitterberry, be dethroned?

In order to download the application, you need to send a pre-formatted tweet from the HandMark site.  The dodgy part about this is that you need to log in to Twitter- from HandMark’s site (See?  It’s just mostly free).  Those very conscious of information security (re:  most people) won’t be thrilled by this prospect.  I changed my Twitter password just for to send the tweet, and changed it back after getting to the OTA link.

Installations was, as just about all BlackBerry apps I’ve installed, pretty painless.  Launching the app exposes you to a colorful UI that is  very smooth and slickly laid out.  Across the top is a band of icon for tweets, searching, finding nearby friends, trends, replies, and more.  Below that is an area that changes depending on the context you are in; Tweets will provide the view of your friends’ (and yours) tweets, with a Refresh button to obtain updates.  One of the knocks on TweetCaster is the lack of auto-refresh; just about every other Twitter client has this, and I’m surprised that- even at an initial release- TweetCaster lacks this ability.  For me, however, this is not a deal breaker.  Using this list, you can click on a tweet and see the entire message on its own.  Clicking at the top on the writer’s name takes you to a screen with the the owner’s bio (complete with hyperlinked website if they have one listed) and buttons to view their timeline, follow, or block them.  Very slick.  Retweeting, replying, or writing a new tweet requires a press of the menu key and selecting the appropriate option.  What TweetCaster needs is shortcuts, which is something I got used to with Twitterberry.

The other views are self-explanatory and look visually similar to the primary Tweets screen.  Trends provides you with a listing of the hot topics on Twitter at the moment, and clicking on them loads up a familiar view of the related tweets.  Search was fast; type in the phrase you’re looking for and the results are returned in short order.  The consistency in the design and aesthetics is impressive; right out of the gate, TweetCaster doesn’t just focus on functionality (although it has it in spades), TweetCaster makes for the best-looking Twitter client on the BlackBerry platform.

But are looks, dare I say, everything?  No, but TweetCaster doesn’t just rely on a pretty face to get by.  It is a fully functional, free client that is fast, not bloated, and features just about everything serious Twitter enthusiasts would want.  The mulit-account functionality, Retweet (something Twitterberry currently lacks), Picture support (go to write a new tweet, then press the menu key and select Take Picture or Attach Picture), and built-in TinyURL support make this is a heavyweight client.  TweetCaster isn’t perfect, though; it needs keyboard shortcuts and a built-in Help screen to make it the undisputed champion.  In the short-term, however, TweetCaster has knocked off Twitterberry as my Twitter client of choice.  HandMark needs to work on a few things, such as a better delivery method for the product (forcing people to log in at HandMark’s site is not a good marketing move) to really cements its position.

My initial impression of TweetCaster is very positive; HandMark has set a high standard and hopefully will continue to maintain it. I’m curious if anyone else took the plunge to downloaded it, and if so, what do you think?