Tweetie for Mac and iPad Still in the Works

[MacRumors]

Ars Technica spoke with Tweetie developer Loren Brichter this week at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference and received a status update on his plans for Mac and iPad development. Brichter had promised a beta version of Tweetie 2 for Mac for late March, with purchasers of MacHeist's nanoBundle set to receive access to it, but the release is still nowhere to be seen.

The reason for the delay is that Brichter has been a bit preoccupied in recent months with Twitter's acquisition and rebranding of Tweetie for iPhone for use as the company's official iPhone client. The delays and focus shift for Tweetie have led many fans of the Mac version to wonder if development has been abandoned, but Brichter promises that he's getting back to work on the project.

Although Tweetie 2.0 for Mac has been put off for a while thanks to the acquisition and the re-release of Tweetie for iPhone (now known as Twitter for iPhone), Brichter says he'll be back to working on Tweetie for Mac within weeks.

He also promises that development on Tweetie for Mac will continue through at least version 3, suggesting that he already has ideas about future feature implementations for the platform.

Brichter is also looking to bring Tweetie to the iPad platform in native form, a space where other iPhone applications have already been establishing themselves.

As many iPad users know, Tweetie/Twitter has yet to arrive on the iPad in native resolution, but Brichter says it's coming soon and, in fact, it's so great that he wishes he could share some of the iPad code back to the Mac. "The goal is to exceed the Twitter iPhone app in the iPad," he said.

Early this week, Tweetie for Mac was named a winner in Ars Technica's Ars Design Awards for Mac OS X applications in the "Best Mac OS X User Experience" category. The awards were created by Ars Technica this year in order to fill the vacuum left behind by Apple's elimination of Mac OS X categories from its own Apple Design Awards.

Article Link: Tweetie for Mac and iPad Still in the Works

 

[Orange™]

Will never use it, but others might find this to be good news.

 

[PlaceofDis]

tweetie/Twitter is sorely missed on my iPad. I have yet to find a comparable Twitter client that is nice to use. and running it at double res is unusable.

 

[ValSalva]

Brichter says he'll be back to working on Tweetie for Mac within weeks

Well, he's doing more work for the Mac than Apple is currently

 

[Doju]

Well this is nice to hear, I'd love some Tweetie 2.0 on the Mac. I was almost going to buy the bundle for it, glad I didn't now.

 

[JTVPRO]

What is the point?

I tried to use Twitter, but failed to see how it could be useful.
Must be an age thing. Darn kids and their toys.

But Really what is the point of this program?

 

[The JTizzle]

tweetie/Twitter is sorely missed on my iPad. I have yet to find a comparable Twitter client that is nice to use. and running it at double res is unusable.

Twitterrific on iPad is really nice and free.

 

[ValSalva]

I tried to use Twitter, but failed to see how it could be useful.
Must be an age thing. Darn kids and their toys.

But Really what is the point of this program?

It's all in who you follow and what your interests are. I use it like a very customized RSS feed. I almost never do any tweeting myself.

 

[nutmac]

I tried to use Twitter, but failed to see how it could be useful.
Must be an age thing. Darn kids and their toys.

But Really what is the point of this program?

1. Getting breaking news, traffic alerts, etc.
2. Seeing latest trends.
3. Send public (called @ replies and mentions) message to any Twitter users.
4. Send private messages (called direct message) to your contacts.
5. And getting pointless updates from celebrities, friends, whoever.
6. And writing pointless message.

For me, #4 is the most useful feature, a freebie alternative to SMS and MMS. Since messages are archived on Twitter's servers, even if I switch the phone, carrier, all the messages are fully intact.

 

[Rojo]

So wait...Tweetie has been rebranded as Twitter for iPhone...

...but when it comes to iPad, it will still be called Tweetie?

 

[cocky jeremy]

Sweet! I've been wondering about this. Hopefully it comes soon for Mac.

 

[rwilliams]

I got so sick of waiting for an update to Tweetie that I switched to Echofon. I highly recommend it.

 

[MacNut]

traffic alerts

I hope not while you're driving.

 

[breadesign]

...but when it comes to iPad, it will still be called Tweetie?

I'm hoping that was a slip of the tongue... It would be a shame if the iPad version was not free... However not a deal breaker since it is (for me) the nicest of the Twitter clients I have used.

 

[waloshin]

Sweet!

 

[opticalserenity]

Well, he's doing more work for the Mac than Apple is currently

Because of course you would know that. Considering they keep updating OS X, and have seeded out 10.6.4 to devs, and in fact are constantly updating apps like Aperture, Final Cut, etc, I'd say they are in fact working on it.

Second to that, I'm very disappointed in how long it's taking for Tweetie to be updated. Ridiculous for a pay app.

 

[pdjudd]

Second to that, I'm very disappointed in how long it's taking for Tweetie to be updated. Ridiculous for a pay app.

It takes time since (at least recently) Atebits has been a one person outfit.

 

[hamis92]

Beta only?

How was it again, were nanoBundle purchasers supposed to get only the beta or that and the full version? I really can't remember.

Thanks

 

[scottishwildcat]

How was it again, were nanoBundle purchasers supposed to get only the beta or that and the full version? I really can't remember.

Only access to the beta was promised IIRC, although I'd guess a discount on the full release for beta users and/or Macheist folks would probably be a distinct possibility as well.

 

[plazmatyk]

Am I the only one surprised that this is front page news?
I feel like Adobe Lightroom 3 is a more important piece of software but it's announcement is on page 2.

 

[hamis92]

Only access to the beta was promised IIRC, although I'd guess a discount on the full release for beta users and/or Macheist folks would probably be a distinct possibility as well.

That's what I thought, thanks.

Seems like almost everyone is focused on the iOS these days. Another piece of software I've been waiting for ages is Awaken 5 for Mac.

 

[Cloudane]

LOL.... BREAKING NEWS - Tweetie 2 still in development.

It's becoming like the new Duke Nukem Forever.

 

[abrooks]

tweetie/Twitter is sorely missed on my iPad. I have yet to find a comparable Twitter client that is nice to use. and running it at double res is unusable.

Check out Osfoora HD, it's pretty sweet.

 

[Tyre]

The reason for the delay is that Brichter has been a bit preoccupied in recent months with Twitter's acquisition and rebranding of Tweetie for iPhone for use as the company's official iPhone client. The delays and focus shift for Tweetie have led many fans of the Mac version to wonder if development has been abandoned, but Brichter promises that he's getting back to work on the project.He also promises that development on Tweetie for Mac will continue through at least version 3, suggesting that he already has ideas about future feature implementations for the platform.

Mirroring Apple on the iPhone > Mac stance. And yes we have been seeing numerous dev releases of 10.6.4, but eliminating Awards for Mac developers? You cannot say that isn't a slap in the face.

 

[PlaceofDis]

Twitterrific on iPad is really nice and free.

it's what I currently use and hate it. glad it was free. takes up useless space and the colors are painful. no notification of when someone replies, or sends a dm. ugh.

Check out Osfoora HD, it's pretty sweet.

will take a look at it, thanks for the suggestion.