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TweetDeck’s arrival on Android has been somewhat belated. After all, it’s the most popular desktop client around, and it’s been available on iOS since June 2009. It’s my desktop client of choice, too, so I’ve been particularly keen to try out the mobile version. Better late than never, I guess.
It certainly looks like TweetDeck. The familiar shades-of-grey theme is evident here, and the mobile app borrows the column-driven format of the desktop version. Three are initially included – your main feed, your mentions and your direct messages – but more can be added, with your favourites, lists or searches available.
It’s obvious that plenty of thought has gone into the UI, too. Navigation is as simple as swiping between columns, and each is refreshed by clicking on its name at the top of the window. Click on a tweet to find options for replying, retweeting and more, and select the user to load up a full profile.
Navigation is easy: just swipe between columns and use the trio of dots in the upper right-hand corner to keep track of which column you’re using. There are other helpful touches: when you’ve refreshed a column, a yellow bar on the right-hand side of the screen illustrates how many tweets you’ve got to trawl through and diminishes as you scroll through unread messages. We did have to reduce text size, though, as the default font barely allowed three tweets on screen at once.
The tweet writing area lets you trawl through your albums to attach pictures and provides direct access to your default camera app. It’ll also use your phone’s GPS to add your location to messages. A search function allows contact names to be quickly added, too, and the GPS can be used in conjunction with Google Maps to track local users and their posts.Image may be NSFW.
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More advanced options allows for multiple Twitter accounts as well as Facebook, Buzz and Foursquare integration – handy for those folk who enjoy annoying the rest of us as they announce that they’re the new Mayor of McDonalds – and the options screen serves up tools to change your notification and automatic update settings.
Power users might miss the odd feature, such as choosing your picture uploading or URL shortening service, but Tweetdeck offers everything the average Twitterer will need in one of the best UIs we’ve seen on Android. It’s slick, free, and more than worthy of our Android App of the Week accolade.
Want more great Android apps? Check out our previous Android Apps of the Week or read our 36 Best Android Apps feature.
