Twittelator for iPad

With the introduction of the iPad comes a new flood of applications across all categories.  The larger screen and added horsepower of the iPad empower developers to push the envelope and create new and exciting interfaces.  Twittelator truly capitalized on this opportunity to think outside the box and offer up a highly unique UI that not only pleases the eye, but makes using Twitter easier given it’s ever expanding feature list.

Leaving it’s blocky iPhone interface behind, Twittelator for iPad gives Twitter the almost organic Apple-like polish it so desperately needed.   The screenshots alone persuaded me to plop down the $4.99 in a flash.  Being that I had used the iPhone client before and loved the outstanding feature set it offered, I knew I would love their iPad version – even if they held off on a few other features due to the tight development timeframe.  Boy was I right.

After launching the app and setting up my 4 Twitter accounts – multiple personality disorder if you were wondering – I was brought to the main screen which felt “just right.”  one of the features listed on the store page was the option to configure a custom wallpaper and oh how I do love to customize the look of apps.  The stock wallpapers are very stylish and hold true to Apple styling.  After choosing the hardwood option, I instantly felt like I was at my desk with little pieces of Twitter laying on it.

The landscape view consists of a timeline view on the right, a menu bar on the lower left and a floating window space just above the menu bar.  As menu items are selected, the window above flies out and the selected window flies in – awesome!  This is just what I was expecting out of the newly developed iPad apps!  Even the mentions window has a great little envelope laying on it adding character to what could have been just a simple table view.

Styling like this is found all throughout the application too.  Take for instance the profile view of a user.  A paperclip holds the users avatar/icon to the window in a very light hearted manner.  Their attention to details like this are a testament to how in touch they are with the eye appeal that the iPad can obtain.

In my eyes, the only let downs were the composing window, and the portrait view layout.  The composing window, which sits above the keyboard, is too small.  This could be a bit more elegant much like the rest of the app.  Additionally, the false text bubble found at the top of the timeline window could be replaced with an equally elegant “compose button” that would call up the keyboard.  It’s just a bit confusing since it never contains text.

Contrary to the perfect landscape layout, the portrait layout yields a less productive experience.  The timeline is only shown as a button that when pressed, drops down a scrollable window much like that found in the Mail app.  It seems to me that the screen real-estate could be optimized here, however, I find that the landscape mode is much more efficient in both typing and viewing in a relaxed position.

Functionally speaking, Twittelator is jam packed with awesome features including List support, now playing support, hash tag and @reply history support, media upload, preferred RT formatting options, and more.  If history is to repeat itself, we are likely to see a huge influx of feature additions in coming updates.  The developer strives to pack in as much functionality as possible and the iPhone client is a great example of this.  Like its paid iPhone counterpart, multiple accounts are supported, but I kinda feel like its not easy enough to switch between accounts when composing.

Twittelator offers unsurpassed design and elegance that only the iPad can support; it’s a match made in heaven.  While some of the portrait UI can benefit from a revisit, the landscape mode clearly beats the competition by a long shot.  While other clients are simple offerings and basically bigger versions of their clients, Twittelator is a clean-cut re-designed offering, giving you (in my opinion) the best experience ever seen for Twitter client, so far.

Buy this app on iTunes for $4.99.