Why I Choose Twitterrific.
This should take you about 7 minutes to read.
Tweetbot seems to be the Twitter client of choice for almost everyone using iPhones or iPod Touch’. Tweetbot is a great app, maybe the most feature complete one there is. For example, I can’t name any other app that lets you organize a list. Incredible, right? Such a basic thing as a list, and Tweetbot is the only one letting you utilize it to it’s full potential.
However, Tweetbot isn’t the app that I use. Why? Let me explain
Interactions
Although Tweetbot is a great app, it is a slow one. Not slow in performance - but slow in the steps it takes to do certain things.
Viewing a link, a user, replying or retweeting are the most common things I do in a Twitter client. Tweetbot requires me to either a) Tap the Tweet to see the actions bar, then choose what you want to do, b) double tap the user, tag or link to view it, or c) tap’n’hold to get some more options.
These interactions work fairly well, and I don’t have a problem with them at all. What I do have a problem with is the actions bar that appear beneath a selected tweet. Why this extra step? The buttons are small and it’s easy for me (admittedly I have large thumbs) to hit the wrong one.
In Twitterrific all the things you need are presented on the first touch. Interacting with a Tweet in Twitterrific has different results that fit to the way you interact with it. For example: Single tap links, avatars or tags to view them. Tap’n’hold the Tweet for more options regarding it’s content, or tap’n’hold the link, avatar or tag to get more options regarding them.
Twitterrific relies solely on tapping, there just doesn’t exist any gestures. I agree 100% on this, as I never used gestures in Tweetbot nor in Twitter for iPhone. They are messy, slow and easy to do wrong.
All the taps in Twitterrific are obvious, which make everything seem a tad faster than what it does in Tweetbot or Twitter.
A while after Tweetbot’s release I stumbled over a blog post by Reda Kaishin Lemeden which compared Tweetbot and Twitter for iPhone. Not in features, but in interactions. Or as described on his blog:
To see if Tweetbot lives up to the hype, I tried to pit it against the official client using a GOMS-inspired, oversimplified human information processing model (HIP) on a set of frequent and less frequent tasks we perform on Twitter.
He also set some rules for his comparison:
Before jumping in, let me briefly explain some of the concepts used in this model:
An action is standardized interaction that occurs between the user and the interface, such as a tap or a swipe. Each action is assigned a value based on the time required to execute it. For the sake of simplicity, I gave the single tap a nominal value of 1 then used it as a base unit to make an educated guess for other actions.
A task is any set of actions sharing the same end goal. There may be one or more set of actions to carry out the same task. I considered the time required to achieve a given task to be equal to the sum of the individual values of each action involved. The lower the sum, the more efficient the interface.
Unless stated otherwise, typing time was zeroed out.
When two or more methods of achieving a given task are possible, only the most efficient one is used in the comparison. The impact on the overall workflow is also taken into account.
Only the default behavior of the triple tap is taken into consideration for Tweetbot.
The values assigned to each action are as follows:
- Tap: 1
- Double tap: 1.5
- Swipe: 1.5
- Triple tap: 2
- Long tap: 2
Thinking time was assigned a value of 0.5, and will be referred to as MOS (multi-option selection) in the tests. For simplification purposes, the number of options was not taken into account, nor was the habit factor.
If you head over to the post you can see the results.
I have put together the results Tweetbot got in Reda Kaishin Lemeden’s post with my own Twitterrific results. I have used all the same rules and points as he did.
Basics
Sending a Tweet (1):
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> {tweet} -> Tap = 2
- Tweetbot:
Tap -> {tweet} -> Tap = 2
Replying (1)(2):
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap -> {tweet} -> Tap = 3,5
- Tweetbot:
Triple tap -> {tweet} -> Tap = 3
Native retweeting:
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap -> Tap = 3,5
- Tweetbot:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap -> MOS -> Tap = 4
Sending an initial DM (3):
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> Tap (letter “d”) -> {username} -> {message} -> Tap = 3
- Tweetbot:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap -> Tap -> {username} -> Tap (return) -> Tap -> {message} -> Tap = 6,5
Opening a link:
- Twitterrific:
Tap = 1
- Tweetbot:
Double Tap = 1,5
All the above: (1) = No hashtags or @ signs. (2) = No other users mentioned in the original tweet. (3) = The tap to get to the Messages view is zeroed out.
Winner: Twitterrific!
Twitterrific: | |
2 + 3,5 + 3,5 + 3 + 1 | 13 |
Tweetbot: | |
2 + 3 + 4 + 6,5 + 1,5 | 17 |
This comes as no surprise to me, as Twitterrific is the simplest twitter app - and therefor should win this one as easily as it does.
Round 2: Hashtags, Mentions & Group Replies
Composing a tweet with #(x1) and @(x1)
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> {tweet} -> 3 Taps -> {keyword} -> 2 Taps -> {username} -> Tap = 7
- Tweetbot:
Tap -> {tweet} -> 3 Taps -> {keyword} -> 2 Taps -> {username} -> Tap = 7
Composing a tweet with #(x3) and @(x2)
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> {tweet} -> (3 Taps -> {keyword}) (x3) -> (2 Tapa -> {username}) (x2) -> Tap = 15
- Tweetbot:
Tap -> {tweet} -> (3 Taps -> {keyword}) (x3) -> (2 Taps -> {username}) (x2) -> Tap = 15
Viewing conversations(1)
- Twitterrific:
Double Tap = 1,5
- Tweetbot:
Swipe = 1,5
Replying all (MMT) (2)
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap -> {Tweet} -> Tap = 3,5
- Tweetbot:
Triple tap -> MOS -> Tap -> {tweet} -> Tap = 4,5
Replying single (MMT) (2)
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> Double tap (username to select it) - Tap (backspace to delete username) -> Tap (to place cursor) -> {tweet} -> Tap = 5,5
- Tweetbot:
Triple tap -> MOS -> Tap -> {tweet} -> Tap = 4,5
All the above: (1) = Where the user takes part (2) = Multi-mention tweet
Winner: Even!
Twitterrific: | |
7 + 15 + 1,5 + 3,5 + 5,5 | 32,5 |
Tweetbot: | |
7 + 15 + 1,5 + 4,5 + 4,5 | 32,5 |
Round 3: User Actions & Lists
Following / Unfollowing a user
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap -> MOS -> Tap = 4
- Tweetbot:
Long tap -> MOS -> Tap = 3,5
Reporting a user for spam
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap -> Tap = 3,5
- Tweetbot:
Long tap -> MOS -> Tap -> MOS -> Tap = 5
Translating a tweet
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap = 2,5
- Tweetbot:
Long tap -> MOS -> Tap -> Tap (Ok) = 4,5
Adding a tweet to Favorites
- Twitterrific:
Triple tap = 1,5
- Tweetbot:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap = 2,5
Deleting a tweet
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap = 2,5
- Tweetbot:
Long tap -> MOS -> Tap = 3,5
Switching timelines
- Twitterrific:
Tap -> Mos -> Tap = 2,5
- Tweetbot:
Tap -> MOS -> Tap = 2,5
Winner: Twitterrific!
Twitterrific: | |
4 + 3,5 + 2,5 + 1,5 + 2,5 + 2,5 | 16,5 |
Tweetbot: | |
3,5 + 5 + 4,5 + 2,5 + 3,5 + 2,5 | 21,5 |
Overall Results
Sending a tweet:
- Twitterrific: 2
- Tweetbot: 2
Replying:
- Twitterrific: 3,5
- Tweetbot: 3
Native Retweeting:
- Twitterrific: 3,5
- Tweetbot: 4
Sending an initial DM:
- Twitterrific: 3
- Tweetbot: 6
Opening a link:
- Twitterrific: 1
- Tweetbot: 1,5
Composing a tweet with #(x1) and @(x1):
- Twitterrific: 7
- Tweetbot: 7
Composing a tweet with #(x3) and @(x2):
- Twitterrific: 15
- Tweetbot: 15
Viewing conversations:
- Twitterrific: 1,5
- Tweetbot: 1,5
Replying All (MMT):
- Twitterrific: 3,5
- Tweetbot: 4,5
Replying single (MMT):
- Twitterrific: 5,5
- Tweetbot: 4,5
Following/Unfollowing a user:
- Twitterrific: 4
- Tweetbot: 3,5
Reporting a user for spam:
- Twitterrific: 3,5
- Tweetbot: 5
Translating a tweet:
- Twitterrific: 2,5
- Tweetbot: 4,5
Adding a tweet to Favorites:
- Twitterrific: 1,5
- Tweetbot: 2,5
Deleting a tweet:
- Twitterrific: 2,5
- Tweetbot: 3,5
Switching timelines:
- Twitterrific: 2,5
- Tweetbot: 2,5
Overall Winner: Twitterrific!
Twitterrific: | |
2,5 + 2,5 + 1,5 + 2,5 + 3,5 + 4 + 5,5 + 3,5 + 1,5 + 15 + 7 + 1 + 3 + 3,5 + 3,5 + 2 | 62 |
Tweetbot: | |
2,5 + 3,5 + 2,5 + 4,5 + 5 + 3,5 + 4,5 + 4,5 + 1,5 + 15 + 7 + 1,5 + 6 + 4 + 3 + 2 | 70,5 |
As I said, Twitterrifc is and feels faster than Tweetbot. Now, keep in mind that Tweetbot has a custom UI - with smaller and different buttons - while Twitterrific keeps the standard Apple design - with bigger buttons and more text. Therefor the “multi-option selection’s” are much faster and easier in Twitterrific.
This comparison isn’t scientific, and I wouldn’t rely on this to choose what apps to use. However, when it’s as tight competition as it is between the Twitter apps, it doesn’t hurt to get some actual results to help you out.
Those nice touches
Twitterrific might be the master of nice touches. There’re these small things that make it so much better to use than any other Twitter app.
- Live Time-stamps.
Every Twitter app gives you relative time stamps, but Twitterrific’s have two great advantages over all the other’s. They are live, and will count each and every second for you. In addition to that, Tweets that are new will have an orange time-stamp, while old Tweets (Tweets that were already in your timeline before the last refresh) will have a more subtle color.
- Status bar
Everytime something in Twitterrific happens (you tweet, DM someone, new tweets load in your timeline etc.) a little purple statusbar will appear at the bottom of the app, telling you what just happened. It’s so tiny it never gets in the way of anything, as opposed to Tweetbot’s large notification message.
This statusbar will also notify you if Twitterrific can’t reach Twitter or if something else went wrong. Every Twitter app does this in some way, but I think Twitterrific does it best.
- Live image uploading.
When you add an image to Twitterrific you can upload it right away to more accurately decide where in your Tweet it’s link will appear.
- Screw spammers.
Twitterrific will instantly remove all cached tweets from people you mark as spammers. Very, very nice.
- Unified apps.
The Iconfactory has made Twitterrific for both iPhone, iPad and the Mac. They all look the same, work the same and are just as awesome as the other.
- Timeline sync
Twitterrific 4.3 also supports Tweet Marker, which is a way to sync your timeline between your devices. This is a fantastic feature, that only Echofon and Twitterrific supports at this moment (as far as I know).
- UI
Nobody can say Tweetbot isn’t a beautiful app. It’s one of the very best and most beautiful ones out there for the iPhone. However, Twitterrific is even more beautiful - and yes, that is possible.
Some people say they don’t like the color coded timeline. If you think so, we’ll just have to agree to disagree. Because to me it’s perfect. I love getting all my tweets in one stream - although I can see it being a hell for someone getting lots of mentions. Fortunately, I don’t, so I can keep loving Twitterrific.
Even though I love trying out new apps and experiencing all the different ways to use Twitter - I will always end up using Twitterrific. It has it’s flaws (pretty many, actually), but to me it’ll always be the best.
