Threaded conversations in Twidroid 3.0.

Version 3.0 also came with many additional features including:

• new: threaded conversations
• new: in-app image previews for twitpic, yfrog, twitgoo, phodroid, posterous and twitter profile images
• new: in-app link previews
• new: twidroid plugins 1.0
• new: action menu design streamlined with icons
• new: share option for single tweet
• new: view large avatar in profile
• new: saved searches sync with twitter
• new: marker for tweets annotated with geo information
• new: report spam
• new: remember timeline position setting (default: on)
• new: jump to top in timeline button
• new: autocomplete usernames for timeline and replies
• new: bring up tweet box directly by typing @
• new: DM list now with avatars

The developers Zimmermann & Marban show no signs of slowing down and have also posted a roadmap of features for version 3.1:

• new: unified action and inline link menu – whole tweet brings up the menu now
• new: native youtube posting in cooperation with google
• new PRO: offline sending (tweet outbox)
• new interface languages: chinese, czech, russian, arabic
• new: sample plugin to integrate your own URL shortener
• new: RT icon instead of text
• new PRO: white on black theme

My only question now. How much longer before some big company acquires Twidroid? I think Twitter, Google, or any handset maker would be proud to make this their official client.

As an Android enthusiast, I love the way Twidroid continually updates their release notes. Anyone can see just how active the developers are and they have recently began including a roadmap of upcoming features.

The next major update due in December should include:

• new: threaded conversations
• new: remember timeline position setting
• new: single tweet view with extended infos (geo, report to spam etc.)
• new: offline tweets [~2.9]
• new interface language: chinese

I also like how Twidroid is available in two versions: Free and Pro. I prefer the Pro version for its full featured lists support, multiple account management, desktop widgets, and themes (For a full comparison see their features list). The Pro version will cost you around $5, but if you are a heavy Twitter user I would definitely recommend it.

Twidroid has also been helpful for other application developers as well. They recently announced they support plugins so other apps can integrate with their service.

We’re happy to announce that we will soon provide a mechanism for Android developers to build plugins that use Twidroid as a platform for all Twitter-related communication and enhance the feature set for end-users. Our first example will be a native Google Maps integration for individual Tweets as not all currently available devices are equipped with native capabilities for viewing maps. We’ll provide further infos in the next weeks.

I know there are a million different Twitter clients for Android, but Twidroid has consistently been the best over the last year. Our readers agree too, since they voted it as the Best Twitter App during our last Android Network Awards.

If you have yet to sign up for Twitter, what are you waiting for? Be sure to follow @androidandme for up to the second updates on the latest Android news.

Twitta Tweets

Twitta

Twitta is the leanest of these five clients. It takes a mere 121Kb. This stripped down client is great if you want to save space, but supports fewer functions than the other clients. Options are simple, including notification on and off, tweet check interval, notification ringtone, and a checkbox to turn vibration on and off.

Twitta doesn’t support viewing @messages and direct messages as a separate screen. It shows all tweets from your network together. It does support @replies and re-tweeting. The text box to enter your tweets is conveniently located at the bottom of the screen.

This is a great client for people with smaller networks or people with space issues on the G1.

Twoid Tweets

Twoid

Twoid is a 300Kb Twitter client that is clean and easy to use. It supports viewing of all public tweets, your tweets, viewing a list of followers, and viewing a list of friends. It supports @messages and direct messages. Twoid also supports viewing user profiles and adding keywords to user profiles to assist in filtering tweets.

Twoid has very few options, which may appeal to users who want a simple setup and a simple client. Twoid remembers your login information after the client’s initial start. Other than that, there are simply very easy to use features and functions.

Twit2go Tweets

Twit2go

At 323Kb, Twit2go is a midsized client with a simple, effective Twitter client that allows a good variety of font size options. It also allows you to select the interval between checks for new tweets. The range of options is from disabled to every three hours.

Twit2go’s update screen offers a running count of remaining characters, a URL shortener, and supports sending a picture taken with the camera. It also supports uploading the last picture taken.

Twidroid Tweets

Twidroid

Twidroid is a solid Twitter client for the G1. At 605Kb, it is one of the larger clients tested. Tweets are readable and the user avatar is clear. The opening screen is simple and easy to use. In addition to the most recent tweets from your network, there are four buttons across the bottom of the screen. The first button brings up a text box to allow you to send a new tweet. The second button brings up @messages directed to you. The third button takes you to your direct messages. The fourth refreshes the list of tweets.

Twidroid has some very useful features. Just beneath the box where you type your tweet is a pair of buttons. The first allows you to send a picture stored on your memory card. It supports both Phodroid and Twitpic. Image upload quality can be set based on the type of network you are connected to. The second will attach your location to the tweet. The menu key has a direct link to the current buzz on TwitterSphere. You can access your favorite tweets via the menu key. Twidroid also allows you to search tweets.

The settings menu offers a number of useful items. You can choose to be notified of all tweets, or you can select or deselect notifications for general tweets, @messages, or direct messages. The amount of time for tweet checks can range from three minutes to once a day. People who want to manually check for tweets can disable the automatic checking. Shorter check intervals use more battery power. Notifications can be any combination of vibration, LED flashing, or ringtones. A custom ringtone can be set for new tweets.

Twidroid supports a dizzying array of URL shorteners: short.to, tinyurl.com, is.gd, tr.im, and sai.ly. The URL shortener can also be disabled. Other options with Twidroid are larger font sizes, metric units, and a selectable number, between 50 and 250, of last tweets to download. It supports SSL connections and can automatically attach your location to all tweets, including street names in the U.S.. Twidroid allows you to store the cache on your memory card, which leaves a bit more phone memory free for other applications.

TwitterRide Tweets

TwitterRide

At 808Kb, TwitterRide is the largest of the twitter clients tested. A number of settings can be chosen on login. They include turning auto-refresh of recent tweets on and off and a daemon that checks for new tweets even when the app isn’t running. New tweet checking can be set between 5 minutes and 120 minutes. You can also select your notification types to include vibration and LED Flash. TwitterRide can be set to only notify you of @replies and direct messages.

The TwitterRide screen is clean and usable. Three tabs allow you to see all tweets, @tweets, or direct messages. Touching a tweet brings up a context menu to favorite the tweet, view the user profile, re-tweet, or send a reply or direct message. The settings menu brings up the initial login screen to allow changing of default settings.

The posting screen supports uploading of an existing image or taking a new image with the camera. It also supports a URL shortener.

Conclusion

All of these clients have their strengths and weaknesses. Twidroid makes up for its larger size in its ability to store the cache on the memory card. TwitterRide is simply the most full featured of all of the clients. The two mid-weights have a different balance of features, and would appeal more to people who don’t have huge Twitter networks. Twitta is outstanding for people who either have small networks or who tweet infrequently.