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When there are only 10,000 apps available for the BlackBerry, it’s easy to get excited about the ones on deck. The last time I was this excited about a new BlackBerry app, it was also for a Twitter app (I know…boooorrring).
The buzz around Blaq — a BlackBerry Twitter app — has been growing over the past few months. I only heard about it a few weeks ago…through Twitter, of course. But after getting acquainted with the app’s features on its website, I was hooked.
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The user interface is to blame for my obsession. The attractive black background highlighted by bright greens and blues make it the most pleasing Twitter app so far. Not even the latest UberTwitter update (which I gawked at since its most recent facelift) can touch its beauty.
But what functionality sets it apart from other Twitter apps?
While viewing Twitter profiles with Blaq is aesthetically pleasing, there is one feature that the Blaq developers are “most excited to share with you”: BlaqOps.
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On its blog, Blaq developers claim that “selecting the BlaqOps icon brings you to a pop-up menu…Blaq will pull the corresponding information from your device and send a direct message to the selected user with a special code (e.g. #blaqBBM) and your information (in this case, your device’s PIN).”
The Quick Tweet option stands out as the most appealing feature in my opinion. By opening the BlackBerry menu and selecting “Quick Tweet”, a status window appears giving you the ability to let the world know that you’re eating a sandwich. This can be done even when other apps are open. With the installation of a 10KB plug-in, you can set Quick Tweet to a convenience key for easier access to this feature.
Adding to the convenience factor is the ability to tweet from multiple accounts without having to toggle between accounts to do so. Blaq lets you choose which account to post from by selecting the respective box of the account(s).
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One other feature worth mentioning is tucked away in the ‘Settings’ menu. With Blaq, you have the ability to customize your URL shortener. I’ve always stuck to bit.ly, but I know that others prefer to use an alternative shortener. There are a few other features that focus on integration, but this was my favorite since I’d likely use it regularly.
The app is expected to launch today in BlackBerry App World.
Today, we’ll be bringing you the 480 x 360 resolution (9700, 96xx and 89xx) and the 320 x 240 resolution (93xx, 85xx and 83xx) in both the full, paid version for $4.99, and also BlaqLite, our free version. Blaq updates and upgrades will be free…for life.
A Twitter update from Blaq claims that there will be a version for the Bold 9000 as well.
I plan to use Blaq exclusively for awhile longer before I can claim it the “Best BlackBerry Twitter app”. For the record, I’m still high on UberTwitter. But with innovative features that focus on convenience and a UI that’s easy on the eyes, Blaq is well on its way to the top.
No word yet on when this app will be available for the Torch 9800. For more information and updates, check out AllBlaqEverything.com. You can also follow them on Twitter at @Blaq.
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Wondering if your favorite players (i.e. Fantasy Football roster) are on Twitter? Here’s a list of NFL players on Twitter. The list is constantly updated. If you see someone missing or other changes, let us know by adding a comment.
You can also follow my Twitter list of current & former NFL players, coaches, staff and analysts here.
See the entire list below the break. (Updated: September 9, 2010)
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Today’s trending topics on Twitter included more than celebrity gossip, world news or some pointless meme. “Twitter Analysis” and “Tweets Are Pointless” were #1 & #2 respectively. Ryan Kelly of PearAnalytics completed a study of a 2,000-tweet sample over a period of two weeks to determine the breakdown of tweets. On the heels of Twitter’s recent acclaim as a viable news source, Kelly decided to dissect Twitter’s content.
The chart above reflects the study’s findings: 40.55% of the tweets were considered “Pointless Babble”, 37.55% considered “Conversational”, and only 8.70% had “Pass-Along Value”.
Perhaps more interesting were the following stats:
- 11:30a and Monday’s have the most frequent tweets with Pass-Along Value. If you want something re-tweeted, try it at 11:30 in the morning, or try it on a Monday. Maybe folks are feeling generous then.
- Spam seemed pretty consistent all day, everyday, but luckily was second-to-last on frequency.
- News seemed heavier at 2:00p and on Tuesdays. Note that we did not collect any tweets during the Michael Jackson news, in order not to skew the results.
- Conversational tweets were high between 2:00 and 4:00p throughout the study, and heaviest on Tuesdays. Most people are busy on Monday catching up with work, so perhaps it takes until Tuesday to get into the swing of Twittering again.
You can keep your babble. Robert Scoble interviewed Ryan Kelly this evening, which included an offer to perform the same study on @Scobleizer‘s friends. The difference? Scoble recently dumped all of his tens of thousands of friends and then reinvested between 50-70 hours vetting his new list of friends to follow. The new list does include people he has met in person, but it’s probably safe to assume that Scoble’s list consists primarily of tweeters that initiate “conversation” and offer “pass-along value”.
Be sure to read the white paper on the PearAnalytics blog here and hear Robert Scoble’s exclusive interview with Ryan via FriendFeed.
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