Tvider for BlackBerry Smartphones Reviewed

The number of Twitter users is continually increasing at an alarming rate. Some use it for the forces of good and others...not so much. I remember writing a review over a year ago about OpenBeak, (previously dubbed TwitterBerry) and briefly explaining what Twitter was. Now, it’s so quickly adopted. Personally, I enjoy using Twitter over Facebook, as I find it less time consuming (unless you’re addicted). So for those who follow me on Facebook…sorry for not being active. One of the many, many reasons why I enjoy Twitter is having access to breaking news and events; not just from the news. Users can upload media, along with their tweets.

I’m also happy to see so many Twitter applications out there for BlackBerry that add a fair amount of functionality while on the go. Adam has done a fantastic job with the Ultimate Twitter Client Roundup; which covers many of the well known clients. Seeing how I haven’t worked on a Twitter client review in quite some time, I thought I would delve into the recently released Tvider. Tvider is designed to simplify the way you tweet images, audio and pics; let’s see if this birdie can fly.

About Tvider

The Tvider application was developed by Umundo Inc; founded in June 2006. Besides BlackBerry, Tvider is available for iPhone, Brew, Symbian and J2ME, with support for Android and Windows Mobile coming soon. Currently, the application is compatible with the following models:

Tour

Bold (9000 & 9700)

Curve (83xx, 8520 & 8900)

Pearl & Pearl Flip

According to their website, Storm support is in the works. Presently in version 1.1, Tvider requires 656.5 kb of space. In order to download Tvider, you have to point your browser to tvider.com/mobile. There you have to scroll through various phone models and platforms before you hit the BlackBerry section. Perhaps we will see a better layout in the future, where you can click on your platform, then your model. After installing Tvider and logging into your Twitter account, you will be brought to the main menu. This menu is different from what I’m used to, as the clients I use initially display the timeline of my friends. The main menu gives you the following actions, as seen in the image below:

Main Menu

InstaPix and InstaVid open up your native camera and video camera in order to capture pics and video. Once captured and approved by you, it is automatically added to your tweet, along with space left over to add any text. InstaAudio uses Tviders own audio capturing tool. You are allowed to record up to 30 seconds of audio at a time (which I thought was supposed to be 60 seconds). To access your previously stored media, you head over to the MemWiz option. MemWiz permits file browsing and status updating from the same screen; you can browse through both your memory card and device memory. You will notice that only 30 characters are taken up by your media, leaving 110 to leave your thoughts.

Recording Audio

tweet and browse files

The Timeline feature is quite different from the client I sport. Instead of seeing all tweets in a timeline, you only see tweets with media. I understand that Tvider focuses on delivering media, but this issue could impact its image of a full fledged Twitter client. Aside from this, Tvider had some decent functionality when browsing through the media tweets. Each tweet will display the message, username and time of the tweet. Where you would expect to see the user’s avatar, the posted image (or clip from the video) is displayed. To the far right of the tweet a small icon will indicate if the media is an audio file, picture or video. You can view or play files directly from the tweet. If text accompanies the message, you can read it after viewing the media file. Besides playing or viewing the media, you can also reply to tweets, re-tweet or refresh the timeline.

downloading media

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a Twitter application to accompany your main Twitter client, or simply want to focus on your media tweets, the Tvider is right up your alley. I prefer a client that offers the whole package, so that I’m not switching back and forth. I do find that you can send media tweets much more quickly with Tvider than with most other clients. Tvider is free, so if you want to check them out, head over to tvider.com/mobile.

Pros

• Quickly Tweet Media
• Easy to use Interface

Cons

• You can only view media tweets from timelines

More Info

• Learn More & Checkout Tvider >>