As of this posting, I follow over 200 people on twitter and some of those provide a constant stream of data like my local news (@1590KLIV) or my tech news (@zdnett and @usatodaytech) or actual tweeple who just tweet a whole lot more than I do. In any case, following this many people makes it impossible for me to use Twitter solely on SMS when I'm out and about. Enter Tiny Twitter. I use SMS to get updates to my personal friends and breaking news updates. For all other tweets, I use TT.
Tiny Twitter is a Twitter app for Windows Mobile devices that allows you to get your updates using your data plan vs SMS messaging. It was the only decent Twitter app for WinMo when I first got my phone so it won by default. But recently I've been playing a little more with it and find it's got some great features. Here's how to use it, the way I do:
GETTING STARTED:
Installation: easiest done directly on the BJii. Visit http://www.tinytwitter.com/m/ and click on Windows Mobile Smartphone. Follow the prompts to install the app onto your device. Once installed, launch TT via the start menu > applications and login with your twitter credentials.
Customize: Click Menu > Settings and tweak any or all of the following:
- Credentials - this is where you go to change your login info once you've stored it.
- Synchronization - select how often you want Tiny Twitter to download your twitter updates. Default is 4 mins.
- User Interface - most are self explanatory. Except for the "Use Skweezer" options. Skweezer is a website that seems to try to render the websites you visit to load more optimally on a mobile browser. I keep it off - sites don't look right with it on in my opinion.
- Proxy - n/a, I've never had to use this option.
- Twitter SMS number - choose the country your are in. This allows you to "send as SMS" if you're ever updating from location with limited data coverage.
TWEETING WITH TINY TWITTER
Updating and interacting with RECEIVED tweets are all done from the main page from the Menu button. Here's everything you can do:
1) Tweet - of course!
2) @username - this submenu allows you to interact with a tweet's sender
3) Status - this submenu lets you interact with the tweet itself.
4) Delete All - deletes all tweets TT has downloaded
5) Inbox - shows your DMs
6) Update Location - lets you update the "location" displayed on your twitter.com profile page. You can do this manually or let TT access your GPS to automatically populate your exact location. It's kind of loopt or Google Latitude-ish.
7.) Settings - customize the settings I listed at the beginning of the post.
5) Inbox - shows your DMs
6) Update Location - lets you update the "location" displayed on your twitter.com profile page. You can do this manually or let TT access your GPS to automatically populate your exact location. It's kind of loopt or Google Latitude-ish.
7.) Settings - customize the settings I listed at the beginning of the post.
In conclusion, TT does almost everything that most desktop apps do and in a nice enough UI to get by when you are away from your computer. It will also drain your battery if you leave it on all day so I recommend using it sparingly throughout the day.
Now over to you - What do you think of Tiny Twitter? Do you know of another Windows Mobile app that I can try?
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