TwitIQ is a web app that allows users to use multiple Twitter accounts.

Features:

• UI similar to Twitter.com
• all Twitter operations supported
• multiple Twitter accounts supported
• advanced search feature
• keyword and trending topic features

The Good:

TwitIQ is a good Twitter client, some say it it Twitter.com “plus”. It has all the functionality of Twitter with the added benefit of multiple account support. The advanced search and keyword features are pretty handy as well.

The Not-so-Good:

While TwitIQ is certainly a very serviceable Twitter client, complete with URL shortening and saved searches, there are a few things that would be nice to see added at some point in the future. There is no support for photo posting and TwitIQ is unable to display inline videos and photos like PowerTwitter does. These aren’t huge issues, but rather bell and whistles we would like to see.

Tweetwave.com Rates It: ★★★

Visible Tweets is a web app that allows users to view a stream of tweets on any search topic in a unique visual display.

Features:

• simple web UI
• colorful, cascading display of tweets
• search on any term(s)

The Good:

Visible Tweets is an interesting way to display a stream of tweets on any given topic. Tweets are displayed one at a time on a colorful background, with one tweet cascading/rolling into the next.

The Not-so-Good:

The visual display of Visible Tweets is rather appealing, and we liked it a lot. While Visible Tweets can search on any term or trend, it is not a hard-core search tool. It doesn’t pretend to be, which works out just fine.

Tweetwave.com Rates It: ★★★

tweetzi is a web app that allows users to perform searches on Twitter.

Features:

• easy-to-use web UI
• displays Twitter trends
• refine searches with up to six parameters

The Good:

tweetzi  is a very easy-to-use and capable Twitter search tool. We liked the ability to refine searches using parameters such as “links related to” the search term or “asking about” the search term. Daily Twitter trends are displayed so you can hit those as well, if you wish. One other good feature of tweetzi is the ability to turn on a real-time results stream. This is great for keeping up to date on important trends or topics.

The Not-so-Good:

There wasn’t much we didn’t like about tweetzi. The Help feature is very “helpful”. If we have to choose something to find fault with (and we do), all we can really say is that the appearance of tweetzi is a little bit on the “industrial” side. That is merely a superficial complaint about style. The functionality is very good indeed.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★

Airmailr is a desktop app Twitter client for the Mac OS X dashboard.

Features:

• all Twitter operations supported
• search capability
• good customizations available
• uses OAuth login

The Good:

Airmailr is a good Twitter client for Mac OS X. It is presently in early beta release, so there are bound to be a few bugs here and there. We liked the UI, the look and the level of customization. We also liked the use of OAuth.

The Not-so-Good:

As we mentioned, Airmailr is in early beta release along with the requisite potential for bugs. Airmailr stacks up pretty well as a good Twitter client. One thing we noticed was that, although avatars are supported, their appearance felt a bit “pinched”.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★

dabr is a Twitter client that can be used on the web or via mobile phone.

Features:

• login from web or mobile phone
• option to login using OAuth
• all Twitter operations supported
• avatars supported
• TwitPic supported

The Good:

dabr is a solid Twitter client, especially when used on a mobile phone (this is really where its strengths are). As a PC/web Twitter client it functions perfectly fine too. dabr sports a capable search feature as well as integration with TwitPic. We liked that from a mobile, dabr does not insert advertising into the tweet stream, like some other applications do.

The Not-so-Good:

Functionally, dabr is a good, tight little Twitter client. If you want a flashy appearance for your Twitter client, then this isn’t it. The overall appearance is a little bit “industrial”, but that’s just a style complaint. It would have been nice to see a URL shrinking capability and we would love to have the ability to manage multiple Twitter accounts from within the application. It also appears that refreshes have to be done manually.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★

Everytweet is a web app that allows users to view a stream of random tweets.

Features:

• simple web page displays a stream of random tweets, one at a time
• tweeter’s avatar displayed (including link to twitter.com/username page)

The Good:

Everytweet isn’t so much an application as a diversion. It has a somewhat hypnotic effect to it, as completely random tweets scroll past. There are no other uses for it, no configurations, no other displays. It is simply there to provoke thought or reflection, and that’s not a bad thing. You can visit the Twitter.com page for each tweeter if you want to follow things further.

The Not-so-Good:

The mesmerizing quality of Everytweet can suck you in, running the risk of minutes, if not hours, of “wasted” time, unless you like that sort of thing.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★

Tagalus is a web app that allows users to find definitions for #hashtags used on Twitter.

Features:

• simple web UI requires only entry of a #hashtag to search for definition
• definitions displayed are user-driven
• ability to comment or add definitions
• displays relevant Flickr and YouTube hits for the selected #hashtag

The Good:

Tagalus is a great tool to find out what all those #hashtags mean. It is easy to use and allows users to comment on existing definitions or add their own. You can create #hashtags and submit a definition too. Tweets using the selected #hashtag are displayed, and it is interesting to see any Flickr photos or YouTube videos that are related to the tag as well. Tagalus also offers a bookmarklet which allows users to search text selected from any web page they happen to be visiting.

The Not-so-Good:

We found nothing to complain about regarding the functionality of Tagalus. The only thing we could find to complain about is the appearance of the site, which is perhaps a little drab or ordinary (mostly a white field with few blue accents). As we said, none of that impacts on functionality, so who cares? It’s just a style thing, nothing more.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★

Twollars is a web app that allows users to reward positive or inspiring tweets or to support a charity.

Features:

• web UI requires a Twitter username, but not password
• complete simple form to send Twollars
• account starts with 50 Twollar balance
• ability to track stats on Twollars sent and received

The Good:

Twollars is a novel way to give recognition to others for being helpful or inspiring on Twitter, or for supporting a charitable organization. At some point, users can convert Twollars to real dollars by way of donation.

The Not-so-Good:

We like the idea of Twollars, and couldn’t find any serious flaws. It is easy to use, and once it catches on could be a great tool for charitable causes.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★

Twackle is a web app that displays tweets about sports leagues, players, teams and events.

Features:

• web UI requires login with Twitter credentials (including password)
• tabs display tweets from major sports
• news features and user-configured tab to show only feeds you want
• widget available

The Good:

Twackle is a great tool for collecting and viewing tweets about your favorite sport(s). You can tweet and @reply directly from within Twackle as well. A widget is even available to allow you to “tweet on Twackle” no matter what web page you are visiting.

The Not-so-Good:

We found little to complain about on Twackle. For sports nuts, it is the place to be. There is a lot of talk these days about security and protection of your Twitter password. A Twitter password is required to login to Twackle. Use of the site is governed by a lengthy “Terms of Service” document which, according to the fine print, becomes a contract between the user and Octagon, Inc., the provider of the service. There is a lot of language about what Octagon, Inc. can do with your data and how Octagon, Inc. can be protected. The protection of your data boils down to a standard statement saying that your data will not be disclosed unless required by law or to protect Octagon, Inc.

Why spend so much time on this issue? For one thing, the policy/contract is far more detailed than most such statements we see out there for third-party Twitter applications, and most of those are never read by users anyway. Is this one unusual or problematic? Not really, but users should take the time to think about these things and decide for themselves what is acceptable.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★

WeFollow is a web app that allows users to find Twitter users based on tags.

Features:

• users send @reply to @wefollow with up to three #tags
• web UI ranks users by tag and number of followers
• all tags/keywords are searchable

The Good:

WeFollow is a good tool to find Twitter users based on #tags or keywords. It is not unlike other search tools, but the display ranks the results by number of followers. You can click and drill down for further info on each user, which includes their latest tweet, full name, website and other tags. A sidebar shows popular #tags and the Top 100 tweeters (again based on number of followers).

The Not-so-Good:

WeFollow is a fine search tool, but there were two points that we wanted to raise: 1) there is no feature to follow a Twitter user directly from within WeFollow - you have to go to the Twitter.com site, and 2) the measure of a “top tweeter” employed by WeFollow is solely the number of followers, not most active, most re-tweeted, which is fine, but some may want a more meaningful measure (some may not care, which is fine too).

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★