Three great Twitter clients for the Mac
March 3, 2009 by Sukrit Dhandhania
There are a large number of Twitter clients out there, some custom-made for mobile phones, others for web browsers, and some are operating system specific. Let’s look at three Twitter clients for the Mac that I really like. The reason I present three options rather than suggesting one is because they offer something different from each other, and can be run simultaneously.
1. Twitterific
Twitterific is a free Twitter client for the Mac. Although it’s free to use it is ad-supported, which means that the application shows you ads in between tweets. It is probably one of the most popular Twitter clients for the Mac. Twitterific offers a nice and simple interface in a translucent black window like in the screenshot below. One great feature of Twitterific is that it supports a large number of keyboard shortcuts. This is a huge help if you are quite active on Twitter. Another feature I like is the highlighting of unread Tweets. This makes it easy to pick up reading your messages where you left off. It also supports Growl notifications. All in all Twitterific is a great Twitter client, nice to look at and easy to use.
2. Twidget
Twidget is also a free Twitter client for the Mac. Unlike most of its competitors Twidget is not an independent application but a Dashboard widget. Similar to Twitterific, this too has a nice and simple interface design. However, for power users, Twidget is severely lacking in features. I like the fact that the developers of Twidget went with the Dashoard widget option. This means I don’t need to clutter my screen with one more application window floating. The list of upcoming features in Twidget is quite impressive. They are planning to implement features such as Growl notifications and support for automatically shortening URLs.
3. Syrinx
Syrinx is also a free Twitter client. It is installable application. It has a nice looking interface and is pretty feature rich. There’s a very useful feature that allows you to bookmark tweets. Just like with a book, you can mark the last read tweet with a bookmark. When you return to Syrinx later you can pick up reading your messages from where you left off. It also supports a good number of keyboard shortcuts.
We have reviewed Syrinx in great detail earlier.
There are a lot more options for Twitter clients out there. Let us know which is your favorite Twitter client for the Mac.
I personally use TweetDeck on my mac, you should check it out… it will definitely get into your top 3 after that… I also use TwitterFon on my iPhone. Another great app!
I use Twhirl, which is an AIR app, so requires installation of Adobe’s AIR platform.
http://www.twhirl.org/
I think NatsuLion should make this list. Personally, my favorite.
TWEETDECK! Its great, has a lot of filters and cool features, plus 12seconds.tv and other site integration options. TWEETDECK #1
http://www.tweetdeck.com RULES !
Be sure to check it out
I’ve used pretty much all the Mac specific Twitter apps and found none of them have the options of TweetDeck or Twhirl. Though the free Twitterfon on the iPhone/iPod Touch is pretty decent.
I would much prefer a real Mac app over an Adobe Air app, but for now I am sticking with Twhirl. I used TweetDeck for quite a while, but it takes up so much space and Twhirl can let you see follows easily via a tabbed inteface.