Benjamin Schieder

[TECHSUCKS] ANDROID FACEBOOK/TWITTER CLIENTS

2013 January 22

Does anyone have a suggestion for a GOOD Facebook/Twitter/G+ client for Android? The following features are a MUST:
- At least Facebook AND Twitter integration, with G+ a great plus (no pun intended).
- Combined view for all messages, no matter which platform they originate from.
- Possibility to create custom views (for example for searches on Twitter hashtags).
- No automatic uploads in any way, shape or form in default settings.

Reliability (ie: less than 1 freeze per day) optional, but nice to have.


I can hardly express my dislike for all the currently "trending" (and other) Facebook/Twitter/G+ clients for Android.
I'll try to put it into short words:

Official Facebook app:
Cons:
It's slow, it's a battery drain and it doesn't integrate Twitter or G+, so I would need another app for those.
Pros:
When it finally updates and didn't suck my battery dry, it actually works.

Official Twitter app:
I wholeheartedly admit that I never used it, but I bet it doesn't integrate Facebook or G+, so I would need another app for those.

Official G+ app:
Cons:
Where do I start?
In the default settings it automatically starts uploading all my pictures from my device.
Let me repeat that because it is so important: In the default settings it automatically starts uploading all my pictures from my device. Without asking if I even want that.
The widget and the started app use different storages for content. When my widget already displays new entries, the started app needs to re-download those same entries again, causing unnecessary traffic.
The widget only has a "back" button to scroll to older entries, but how I get back to newer entries, I don't know.
It doesn't integrate Facebook or Twitter, so I would need another app for those (notice a pattern?).
Pros:
It actually works quite fast once it updated and it seems like the entire functionality of the G+ website is there.


Scope:
Cons:
No G+ integration (see above).
Can only hold one Twitter and one Facebook account.
Needs a seperate Scope account (what the f*ck for?)
Can not create user-defined Views (for example for Twitter hashtags).
Does not have an option to shorten URLs, you need to do that manually.
Constant nagging to rate/comment/recommend the app.
Regularly freezes up completely so I have to force close and restart the app, sometimes losing all information about read messages or mentions.
Sometimes it just hangs at "Loading..." but never actually finishes, force closing and restarting sometimes helps here.
No search button and no menu button in Android 4, so on devices without respective hardware buttons (Samsung Galaxy Tabs) you have no way of accessing those.
Pros:
Has a nice interface.


TweakDeck:
It's been a while since I last used it, so maybe this has become better in the meantime:
Cons:
No G+ integration (see above).
Unintuitive interface. There are "bubbles" informing me if there are new messages in a feed or not, but no indication of which feed that is.
Sometimes I get entries that just list the name of the person but no content. Sometimes that are just some FarmVille status messages that no one cares about anyway, sometimes it's pictures, sometimes text... There's really no telling.
Pros:
Can handle multiple Twitter accounts, can create custom views for searches (for example Twitter hashtags).


Seesmic:
Has been replaced by HootSuite according to a dialogbox that appears on first start. Go figure.
Cons:
No G+ integration (see above).
Can not create user-defined Views (for example for Twitter hashtags).
Interface is a nightmare. There is no mixed view for Twitter/Facebook messages, so to read all messages you have to read first the one feed, then go back to the accounts, then select the other feed. I could just as well use two different, specialised apps for that and have a better experience.
Pros:
Haven't found any worth mentioning.



EOF

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