Twikini is a Twitter client for mobile phones using Windows Mobile.

Features:

• simple, customizable UI
• written in C++
• all Twitter operations supported
• Twitpic supported
• Windows Media Player integration
• compatible with all Windows Mobile devices

The Good:

There is a lot to like about Twikini. The developer’s goal is to make Twikini the “best designed Twitter app for Windows devices in the world.” That is a lofty goal, but Twikini is off to a very good start. The download and installation process is simple, the UI is clean and uncomplicated and the ability to integrate with Twitpic and Windows Media Player is great. GPS is also supported so you can update your location any time you tweet. There are four different UI themes and a character counter to help when tweeting.

The Not-so-Good:

Only a couple of things jumped out at us in this category. The first was that when viewing tweets, Twikini displays the user’s “actual” name and not their Twitter @username, and we couldn’t find a way to tweak that in the customizations. Not a big deal, really. The second thing was that Twikini does not support more than one Twitter account at a time. You can switch between Twitter accounts, but you have to login each time you switch. This doesn’t detract from Twikini’s usability, but it is a bell (or whistle) that sure would be nice to have.

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: ★★★

jtwitter is a Java mobile app that allows users to perform all the usual Twitter operations by mobile phone.

Features:

• Java application allows Twitter usage on mobiles without having to use SMS
• view public or friends timelines
• usual Twitter operations supported
• install via mobile

The Good:

jtwitter is a Java-based mobile application for Twitter that lets you tweet from your mobile without running up SMS charges. It does a good job of that. One nice feature is that it only refreshes when commanded to, so as to avoid data charges.

The Not-so-Good:

In this column, we noted a couple of things about jtwitter: (1) the display wasn’t as crisp or compelling as one might like, and (2) it can only handle one Twitter account at a time.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★

Remember the Milk is an app accessible from the web or phone that allows users to manage their task list(s).

Features:

• available for multiple platforms including iPhone/iPod Touch, Gmail, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Google Gears, Twitter, Google Calendar, iGoogle Gadget
• follow @rtm and to add tasks send a DM
• assign tasks to other users, update tasks all via DM commands

The Good:

Remember the Milk (RTM) is a novel and increasingly popular way to manage task lists via Twitter or other platforms. RTM allows you manage tasks, get reminders, customize lists, locate your tasks on maps, and share, send and publish tasks. Some have said RTM has “reinvented the to-do list.”

The Not-so-Good:

RTM works very well and allows for a good level of customization. We’re not sure if this is a downside, really, but one thing we noted was the sheer overwhelming number of possibilities for RTM. There are so many platforms and ways to configure it, some users might have trouble with that. On the other hand, they may not, and will get the most out of a very useful application.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★★

Twidroid is a mobile Twitter app for android phones.

Features:

• all usual Twitter operations supported
• user profile information
• follow/unfollow capability
• auto-complete contact names
• secure SSL operation
• Twitter compatible APIs option
• GPS location support
• search capability
• background notifications

The Good:

Twidroid is a great Twitter client for android phones. all the Twitter features you need are supported and there are a few others that come in very handy. URL shortening is automatic, GPS handling is smooth and the one-click photo posting is sweet.

The Not-so-Good:

The only downside we came across with Twidroid is that, obviously, it is only available for android phones. It is now in release 1.5.5, and bugs are being fixed and improvements being made frequently (initial launch was only in October 2008).

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★★

Nambu Touch is an iPhone® Twitter client that also integrates FriendFeed and Ping.fm.

Features:

• all Twitter operations supported
• set favorites
• tag specific users to follow separately
• translation of foreign language messages
• Twitter search
• submit via Ping.fm
• avatars supported

The Good:

Nambu Touch for the iPhone® follows on the Nambu Network Inc.’s Nambu for Mac OSX 10.5+. It has a good-looking UI and supports just about every Twitter operation you could want, down to searching and tagging specific users for filtering/following. Submission via Ping.fm is a nice feature.

The Not-so-Good:

Nambu Touch is a very promising application that already supports many useful features. It is compatible with the iPhone® and iPod Touch™ with the iPhone 2.1 software update. Also, be aware that it costs $1.99 at the App Store.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★★

VisualTWITTER is an app that works across web and mobile platforms allowing users to answer the Twitter question “What are you doing?” by sending a photo from their mobile phone.

Features:

• create “visual” tweets by sending pictures from mobile phone
• visual tweets are displayed on http://visualtwitter.com
• most cellular carriers are supported (all North American ones are)

The Good:

VisualTWITTER is a novel way to tweet in that the tweet itself is a photo, not a photo with commentary as one gets with TwitPic, for example. Users can take a photo with their cameraphone and send it to me@visualtwitter.com. Once all settings are adjusted properly, that photo will be visible to the public.

The Not-so-Good:

We love applications that boast “ease of use” as a top feature, and while VisualTWITTER provides an interesting and different way to tweet, it didn’t feel like the easiest application in the world to use. There are several steps that must be taken before photos are made visible, including validation of your mobile number. If you send photos before you login, you have to activate your mobile under settings and then refresh your browser to see your photos.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★

TwitterSoap is a mashup of Twitter and MobyPicture.

Features:

• create a “Soap” chronicling your adventures via photo post to MobyPicture and a tweet

The Good:

TwitterSoap has the potential to allow users to create photo stories (”Soaps”) and share them via Twitter. Video capabilities are coming soon, we are told. This could be another amusing and interesting application for Twitter.

The Not-so-Good:

The idea of TwitterSoap is intriguing. At the moment, there are some obstacles standing in the way of easy execution. First, you need a MobyPicture account (an app that allows posting of photos from your mobile to various Internet sites) and you have to enable Twitter on MobyPicture. When creating a Soap/episode you need to come up with a shortcode tag and you need that tag to “launch” an episode later in TwitterSoap. It “feels” like there are 22 steps to take before things get going (although in reality there are far fewer steps required).

We like the idea, but TwitterSoap makes it difficult right now to get off the ground.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ♦

twixr is a Flash Lite Twitter client for Nokia phones.

Features:

• view Twitter profile
• tweet, @reply and DM
• view avatars

The Good:

For users of Nokia mobiles, twixr is a great Twitter client. All the usual operations are supported, as are avatars. Stats are provided and you have the ability to view your own profile.

The Not-so-Good:

The only thing we didn’t like about twixr is that it is only for Nokia mobiles. It’s a good one. It would be nice to see it on other platforms.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ★★★★

TwitToday is a “Today screen” plug-in that allows users to post Twitter updates directly from their Windows Mobile device.

Features:

• Twitter plug-in for the Today screen of Windows Mobile touchscreen devices
• fast posting of tweets - no launching or polling
• direct launch of http://m.twitter.com for viewing tweets by clicking on Twitter logo

The Good:

If you have a Windows Mobile touchscreen device and want to rapidly post tweets (without having to launch an application that views, @replies and DMs tweets), then TwitToday is just the thing for you. It does an excellent job of just posting, and since it lives on the Today screen, it is an even faster option than sending a tweet by SMS.

The Not-so-Good:

Some folks have installation difficulties with TwitToday, but it should be remembered that it is a “Today” screen plugin and not a “Home” screen plugin. An earlier release did not support some “foreign” language special characters, but that has been fixed.

Tweetwave.com rates it: ♦♦♦