Twitterrific 3 for the iPad: change, tough love, and better
Here's a good sign that you've made some pretty significant changes to your application: three different people from the company write three different posts about the new design. That's what the folks from Iconfactory did about Twitterrific 3. David Lanham wrote about Redesigning Twitterrific, not just the timeline, but also the settings, contacts, filtering, and more to "optimize the user experience." Gedeon Maheux wrote about Twitterrific's Tough Love, and realizing that Twitterrific had gotten out of hand, along with the steps they took to make it better rather than just pile more on top of it. Craig Hockenberry wrote about not designing for early adopters, whose expectations may limit making something better by expecting you to simply build on what you had before.
I was an early adopter of Twitterrific on the Mac, and still compare all other applications to Twitterrific when I am using them. When I first heard about the changes in Twitterrific 3, I was sure I was going to hate them. After having used it for awhile, I still think Twitterrific is my favorite iPad app. I've been using it since I bought my iPad back in mid-June, and although I've tried some of the others, I keep coming back to Twitterrific. Many others have just started using Twitterrific 3 for the iPhone or iPad because Twitter turned off "basic authorization" logins. All Twitter applications now must use Twitter's (severely, thoroughly flawed) OAuth system for logging in.
Read on for my thoughts on the app, as well as what TUAW heard directly from Iconfactory about the future of the app.
Twitterrific 2 is dead, as are any other Twitter clients which haven't been updated (like that old copy of Birdfeed that you've been hanging onto). Apple would not allow Iconfactory to keep both in the App Store, so on August 31st, they found they had to use Twitterrific 3. Even though version 3 had been out since late June, this came as a surprise since most people were not aware of the changes that Twitter was forcing on users. Since Apple still does not have a way to do upgrades for existing customers, that meant that existing users who had paid for Twitterrific 2 had to either use the free, ad-sponsored version of Twitterrific 3 or pay $5 for the premium version.
As most of you know, $5 spent at the App Store is roughly equivalent to the price of a black-market kidney from a 6'10 blue-eyed blond vegan. As if that wasn't enough, Twitterrific 3 includes several significant UI changes, and I think we all know how the general population reacts to change. Let's just say there were a lot of unhappy people acting as if the folks at Iconfactory had insulted their mothers, their grandmothers, and their children.
Fortunately the so-called Twitter "OAuthpocalype" has passed and cooler heads have prevailed. People who have spent some time with Twitterrific 3 have started to realize how much thought and care went into its development and design. It even has complete VoiceOver support. If you tried the official Twitter app for iPad and found it looked way too cluttered for your tastes, I highly encourage you to checkout Twitterrific 3. The ads are very minimal, and I say that as someone who really dislikes ads. Test it out and see if you like it. If you used Twitterrific 2, yes it's going to be a big change, but there are a lot of people who are realizing with a little time that change can be good.
I have only two complaints. The first is that Twitterrific for Mac is now really, really outdated. The Iconfactory folks are aware of this and have promised an update. We're told it's coming along but not yet ready for beta testing. The second complaint is that the iPhone and iPad client still has a maddening delay when it comes to loading Twitter user icons. This has been an issue for a long time, and I really hoped that it would be fixed with this overhaul, but it isn't.
Iconfactory also told TUAW that version 3.0.2 has been submitted to the App Store which includes some important bug fixes. They are also bringing back the font size controls, based on feedback from users. Those settings and many others are found in the Settings application, not within the app itself.
When I saw the redesign of Twitterrific 3, my initial reaction was negative. I saw everything that wasn't there, that wasn't where I expected it to be. Some handy features seemed to be further away or gone completely. But the more I used it, the more I realized that it was focused on what most people would want to do most of the time.
Twitter clients have been a place where new UIs are born. Some of them are so great that they instantly become the way that we think things should be done (i.e. Tweetie 2's "pull down to refresh"). Some of them throw everything at the user at once: bells, whistles, kitchen sink, and all. Some go so minimal that it's hard to even know what's going on. Where do you find the balance? For me, Twitterrific 3 has nailed it.
I love Twitterrific's unified feed which shows my timeline, replies/mentions, and direct messages all together. I don't know why more apps don't offer this view. Of course you can focus just on mentions or DMs if you prefer, but for regular reading, one screen really is better than three. I also like the fact that Twitterrific makes it easy to send a Direct Message. Most other apps seem to stick that option away under two or more taps. With Twitterrific I can send a message as easily as I can send a reply.
As I mentioned, it's free to try with minimal ads, so if the official Twitter app left you underwhelmed and overstimulated, checkout Twitterrific for iPhone and iPad. Note that it is a universal app, so you only have to buy it once for all your iOS devices.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
christoph said 4:05PM on 9-02-2010
All i want is a tin dot, if there is a new mention Oder message. This is all I miss. you simply miss messages. Otherwise it is perfect.
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Kuby McCarty said 4:26PM on 9-02-2010
What kind of company says "screw you" to its customers? #IconFactory abandons broken #iPhone #Twitterrific app to charge for it again.
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123arnie said 5:27PM on 9-02-2010
You state in your column that Apple's policy is the reason Twitterrific couldn't let current users have the premium upgrade free. Yet in numerous Tweets, @Twitterrific is saying a lot of work went into the update and that the IconFactory can't afford to pay its programmers without revenue.
Please get it straight. Twitterrific wouldn't have given the premium upgrade to current users even if Apple's policy allowed it.
I object to paying for any app twice. Especially one that has been redesigned so poorly as to not resemble the original app at all. I won't use their version 3, and I won't give Twitterrific another penny.
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punkassjim said 5:39PM on 9-02-2010
Dude, it's five bucks. For something you probably use every single day. I get that you're standing on principle, but please, use your principles for something a little less whiny. IT'S FIVE BUCKS, AND IT'S WORTH IT. TWICE.
For my part, I woke up a little confused as to why there was all this hullabaloo all over Twitter this morning, about a "new" version of Twitterrific that was released months ago.
And then I saw that Twitter released their official (and free) iPad client today.
So, basically, it's a shouting match. The Icon Factory (all of whom I respect greatly, and I appreciate their plight) need to get their product in front of everyone's eyeballs today, or the free Twitter client is gonna steal all the newbies away.
Talos said 5:58PM on 9-02-2010
Regarding the upgrade fee and Apple's stance. They are both the truth.
We have been in this computing industries for 15 years. Our contribution is undeniable if you ask any Mac news sites.
Our programmer also contributed his codes back to the Twitter 3rd party App communities in the past 2 years since he jailbreak his iPhone 2G.
The point is we were trying to made in 140 characters on Twitter and failed is this...
We do want to charge for an upgrade. And if we can offer a discount upgrade for Premium users, that would have been ideal, we don't want to charge them for a full price. But it is not possible in the App Store, otherwise, we would have done that.
We offer cross grade in our own online store for our own products. Discount upgrade and volume licensing. None of that can be done in the App Store. We always offer free upgrade to people who purchased that Mac applications (100% made by the Iconfactory) within 60 days of the new release.
pl_svn said 5:26PM on 9-02-2010
I think Twitterrific Pro (1) was the first app I ever bought, loved and... couldn't find anything better up to v2
Twitterrific 3 (purchased just as... an incentive to do better than this ;-) is now sitting in a folder replaced, in everyday use, by TwitBird Pro and Oosfora (still can't decide which one I like the best)
I miss, for sure, Twitterrific's unified timeline, but apart from that...
Yes: very *graphically* pleasant UI with a lot of thinking and "big names" behind. That's all!
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Morgan Schweers said 7:19PM on 9-02-2010
Greetings,
The company line is that they streamlined actions. It's not true. A simple example is to ask why 'favorite' is automatic with a triple-click (which is fidgety at best, not always responding) while '@ reply' requires at LEAST a menu pulldown.
Do the programmers really favorite more than they reply? Who _does_?!?
The whole app is like that now. Maybe it's a shining beacon of awesome on the iPad, but on my iPhone it's a steaming pile. I've documented (in 140 characters at a time) my problems with it, but it all stems from the choice to move away from select-to-perform-action.
I'm betting that choice was made to make the iPad version easier to develop (menus/tweet sheets are like the drop down sheets, etc., so they kept the same design language on a platform where it wasn't appropriate), but it truly borked their iPhone interface.
As far as I can tell, loving or hating TF 3 is dependent on if you used TF 2 and if you have an iPad. If you did and don't, you hate it. I guess they're aiming for the rest of users. :(
Oh well.
Tweetie/Twitter isn't any better, and certainly not as efficient as TF2 was, but at least it doesn't have ads.
I'd pay again for TF 2 that worked with OAuth. :( Never going to happen (maintaing multiple code forks sucks), but...ah well.
-- Morgan
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Alexander Stone said 1:20AM on 9-03-2010
I'm sorry, this all seems silly. I follow most of the Iconfactory folks on Twitter and their tweets over the last couple of days didn't make any sense until now.
Bottom line: You all don't understand how this works and enjoy whining about it (via Twitterrific, no less!)
They put out an app. And instead of piling more and more junk onto what they felt was too much already, they went back to the drawing bored and did it differently.
This is actually Apple's approach to products. Start with a base set of features and grow outward based on what people want. I think for the majority of Twitterrific's users, you're really not missing much here. You can do everything you could before, but with less clutter.
As for "double-dipping" on the purchase, who cares. It should have cost more the first time around, if you ask me. And if this is such an issue for you, don't buy it. It's absolutely that simple. I don't know if you remember, but Tweetie 2 was a re-purchase and people agreed with Loren Brichter about the decision to do so, as it was very much a new app.
Get over yourselves. Stop whining about things and exercise your power as a consumer and buy something else.
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pl_svn said 3:39PM on 9-03-2010
... just one missing... ehm... "detail": you can only search for *username* (means you have to know it in advance)!!! =:-0
Gary said 6:23AM on 9-10-2010
I dont have an issue with twitterific having a new version i would have to pay for, i feel robbed that the app i paid for no longer works and their solution is to pay again at a higher price.
Chances are i would have upgraded and paid, now i feel like they are forcing my hand which is why i think a lot of people are making a stand and refusing.
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TJ Luoma said 3:47PM on 9-10-2010
Gary
Twitterrific version 2 stopped working due to changes that *Twitter* made, outside of Iconfactory/Twitterrific's control. (Twitter TURNED OFF the way that people used to login to Twitter.)
Apple *would not allow* Iconfactory (who make Twitterrific) to keep both Twitterrific v.2 and Twitterrific v.3 in the App Store, due to "user confusion."
So if you want to be angry at someone, choose either Apple or Twitter (or both!) but Iconfactory/Twitterrific had *no control* over either of those issues.
Also, it is *Apple* who does not give Iconfactory/Twitterrific (or any other developer) a way to offer upgrade pricing or discounts for previous users. *Everyone* gets the same price. So you can blame Apple for that too.
That said, you can still use the ad-supported version of Twitterrific for free if you only have one Twitter account. Otherwise, it's still only $5.
Gary said 3:36PM on 9-11-2010
Hi TJ Luoma
It has never been put to people in a sensible explanation like that, for all the reading i have done over the past week on this subject its not been explained plain and simple and i dont believe the maases of people complaining have been given this explanation, The twitterific website simply says upgrading is the only option, it doesn't explain why that is the only option. If it has been said it hasn't been understood, when dealing with the public simple words work best, Joe public are simpletons (me included in this instance)
Whoever has been in charge of twitterifics twitter account simply said a lot of hard work has been put in so its payable, this is different to saying apple doesn't allow premium version updates (even though this would not have been a free upgrade for premium users anyway. though that was never my issue.)
Also they simply say twitterific v2 is no longer supported, again this is completely different to them not being aloud to have two versions in the app store, just saying its not supported sounds like that's their decision, it doesn't indicate that there is actually nothing they can do about it.
now i understand i will probably check out the free version of V3 and make up my mind about going premium, i cant help but think though iconfactory could have kept a lot of customers if they had an explanation ready, they must have expected a backlash once they knew their v2 premium app was about to break.
Thanks for the explanation
Gary
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TJ Luoma said 10:18PM on 9-11-2010
Gary
The Iconfactory folks have posted this information numerous times on their twitter account. In fact, that's where I learned about it. I just went to http://twitter.com/Twitterrific/ and read. Here are two recent examples:
http://twitter.com/Twitterrific/status/24140836767
http://twitter.com/Twitterrific/status/24225035536
Gary said 5:49AM on 9-12-2010
Hi TJ
before you, their has been no explanation put forward, simply telling people its twitters fault isnt good enough because people wont and dont understand that iconfactory cant fix the problem it just sounds like they wont.
if the situation had been explained from the off set clearly then people wont be kicking off the way they are and i wouldnt be leaving comments, the fact that i am is a reflection that iconfactory havent been very clear about the situation but have come across as being sneaky to make money, I know they have not but it is the way they have come across, not just my opinion but the opinion of everyone complaining, branding them robbers, high jacking their @ replies on their twitter etc.
I went to the twitter page to let them know my app was broke, they told me to upgrade, Their website linked to from the twitter page simply says
Problems logging In?
Twitter recently Changed Their API
Updating to the most recent version of Twitterific Will Fix The Problem
it doesnt say
Problems logging In?
Unfortunately We cant Update Twitterific V2
Click Here For A Reason Why
it didnt take long to find out that twitterific v2 premium to twitterific V3 non premium is a big step down, this means pay again or downgrade the features you have available. im not going to start digging down through their website for a reason they cant fix V2 because by this part of my journey i have already made up my mind to the detriment of iconfactory.