Twitbit [$2.99 - iTunes link] is the iPhone Twitter client that just won't quit -- pushing updates and new features almost as fast as notifications. The latest is Twitbit 2.3:

• Support for Twitter's new retweet feature.
• Support for Twitter's new geotagging feature.
• Support for Twitter's new lists feature.
• Support for Twitter's new user search feature.
• Trends tab.
• Trend explanations.
• Account management redesigned.
• Search bar added to timeline.
• User profile added to tabs.
• Connect Twitter accounts to iPhone contacts.

I've been lucky enough to have a beta to try out for a while and 2.3 feels really solid. Overall the interface is fluid and intuitive, the functionality is very well balanced with usability, and the Push Notifications are typically crisp and well-concatenated given the limits of the iPhone modal popup system. If you want a fast, friendly, and pushy iPhone Twitter client, Twitbit might just be for you. And if you're not sure, give Twitbit Lite a try first [Free - iTunes link].

And this being Follow Friday, if you need anyone to try it out with, give Team TiPb a shout:

• @theiphoneblog,
• @reneritchie (Rene),
• @backlon (Dieter),
• @iChadman (Chad),
• @JFSikora (Jeremy),
• @jamesus (James),
• @llofte (Leanna),
• @GeorgiaTiPb (Georgia),
• @JHamilton24 (Josh),
• @justin_horn (Justin),
• @msproductions (Matt),
• @skeetobite (Chris).

Screenshots after the break!

TwitBit 2.0 Forum Review by llofte. For more Forum Reviews, see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum Review Index!

Surprisingly, nearly 3 months after iPhone 3.0's release, there are only a few twitter applications that offer push notifications. Twitbit is one of them. Version 1.x wasn't compelling enough for me to use as my primary client, but the latest 2.0 update is rather impressive and brings Twitbit up to par with other great Twitter clients. The design is clean and simple yet not lacking in important features.

The home tab displays both your timeline and mentions. Just select which you want to view from the top. To scroll up to the most recent tweet, tap the time in the iPhone's toolbar. Tapping on a tweet opens a new screen with the Tweeter's name and username, the tweet, and some options. The tweet is displayed in a chat bubble below the user and includes the date/time and what platform the tweeter posted with. If the tweet was a reply, "In reply to…" will be attached to the tweet and tapping this will bring up a nice conversation view (direct messages also have conversation view). The tweet screen also includes buttons to reply, DM, retweet, and mark as favorite. Tapping the forward icon in the upper right corner allows you to open the tweet with the built in browser or mail a link to that tweet.

As you navigate through screens, the button on the top left will be named after your previous screen. If you find yourself several screens deep through navigation, tap the home tab to quickly return to your timeline.

A user's profile screen includes the standard profile information including the options to follow/stop following, block, and bookmark. You can also send a user a public or direct message and view tweets that mention them from their profile. When viewing your own tweets from your user profile, there is an option to delete.

The Search tab is where you go to search for tweets in all of Twitter or by tweets near you. You can save any search term to for quick access later. To search trends, tap the bookmarks icon and select the trends tab at the bottom. From the top you can select current, daily, or weekly trends.

Search for users in the People tab as well as find all the users you have bookmarked and recent profiles you have visited. Your own profile will be listed on the top of the bookmarks list in blue. You can easily rearrange the list order by tapping edit.

Twitbit supports the use of multiple accounts and the account tab is where you go to switch between users. Tap the arrow for an account to set your push notification settings and edit your services. Twitbit allows you to post pictures to TwitPic, Yfrog, and Flickr and videos (3GS only) to TwitVid, Yfrog and Flickr all of which need to be authorized separately. If you have an Instapaper account, you can authorize it to use with Twitbit as well.

For even more settings, visit the iPhone's Settings app and tap Twitbit. From here you can choose to display full names or usernames, how many tweets to fetch (20, 50, or 100), whether to highlight new tweets, and whether to scroll to the top when loading new tweets. Retweets can be formatted as "… (via @name)" or "RT @name: …", image upload quality set as low, medium, or high, and nearby search radius as 2 km, 10 km, 50 km, or 250 km. If you don't want your links to be shortened, you can turn that off too.

Twitbit is great application, but does has some disadvantages. There isn't a way to access a list of users when composing a tweet, Flickr uploads do not include EXIF data, and the push notification sound is Apple's default Tri-tone text message sound. The good news is that the developers have let us know they are considering adding these features in an upcoming release.

Speaking of the developers, High Order Bit is already diligently working on 2.1 promising features like full landscape support and the ability to iterate through your timeline from the tweet view. They are also planning to utilize those Twitter API updates for native retweet and geotag support.

Conclusion

Twitbit 2.0 is an excellent Twitter client! Notifications are quickly pushed to your iPhone in under 2 minutes, the UI is clutter free, and performance is smooth and snappy. If you're looking for a Twitter application with built-in push notifications, I highly recommend Twitbit. If you're unsure about making a purchase, you can try before you buy! Twitbit Lite is available for free and has all the features of Twitbit "pro" except for push and Flickr uploads. If you do choose to download Twitbit, be sure to let us know what you think!

Pros

• Push Notifications for mentions and direction messages in under 2 minutes
• Upload to Flickr
• Built-in browser and map
• Bookmark users

Cons

• No access to users while composing tweet
• Flickr uploads do not include EXIF data
• Only one notification sound option

TiPb Review Rating

Every week a few of us from team TiPb, bloggers and forum crew alike, will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they're iPhone (or iPod touch) related, they're fair game.

So who's on deck this week and what are our picks? Find out after the break!

Chad's Pick: MyStarbucks

This app rocks for several reasons including the ability to send invites to friends via email with store location info and more for meetings, etc. You can also create your own hot or cold beverage, save and share with your friends. A complete food list is accessible as well and if you are looking for coffee bean details, they can be found here too. [Free - iTunes link]

Chris' Pick: Vconqr

I am trying to find the perfect Risk-style game, and am currently trying out Vconqr. It has a nice interface, easy to play and simple graphics. It doesn't have some of the customization options of the other games, but it is great for just a quick game of Ris....er, Vconqr. Until they actually come out with Risk, this is a good compromise. [$3.99 - iTunes link]

James' Pick: ESPN Radio

I am a sports junkie. I can't get enough of my Chicago teams. Anywhere I go, I usually listen to espnradio1000.com. Unfortunately for me, my work VPN blocks the radio stream. Now I can listen to ESPN no matter where I am. For fans of other cities, the app has streams of the main radio and other cities such as New York and Dallas. [$2.99 - iTunes link]

Jeremy's Pick: South Park Mega Millionaire

South Park Mega Millionaire let's you help Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny as they skate their way through a series of challenges. Any true fan of South will appreciate this game a lot more than the previous attempt of South Park Imagination Land. [$2.99 - iTunes link]

Josh's Pick: Tap Tap Revenge Classic

Basically it's like guitar hero or rockband on the iPhone. I play it every day, like a bad addiction - lol! 100s of songs to play, it never gets old with even classic hits such as Free Bird and Sweet Home Alabama from Lynard Skynard. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

Leanna's Pick: Twitbit 2.0

There are still only a handful of Twitter applications that offer push notification and with Twitbit's new update, Twitbit 2.0 is the by far the best one. It has a clean UI, isn't lacking in important features, and mentions and direct messages are quickly pushed with less than a 2 minute delay. I have a bit of a Twitter app addiction, but Twitbit is the only one that lives on my home page. [$2.99 - iTunes link]

Matt's Pick: Photoshop.com Mobile

I was begining to wonder when Adobe might hop on the iPhone app creation boat... This application allows you to edit your photos - from croping them to adding special effects to your photos. The application is quite powerful and incredibly easy to use. Within the app you can also register with Photoshop.com and upload you pictures to their photo hosting service and share/edit/link your photos. (Includes 2GB for free!) On a side note, the online side of the service is really quite awesome and very intuitive. At its price, you can't beat it. Download this one now! [Free - iTunes link]

Rene's Pick: Ramp Champ

Ramp Champ is co-developed by Iconfactory, so you know it's pixel perfect. A skee-ball type casual, fun, time passer it's perfect for the iPhone. Thanks to in-app purchase you can buy more ramps when -- make that if -- you get through the 4 for so that come with the app. I say if because, while the first challenge is easy, the second is hard, and I think I'll need an Ambrose Chase-style description field to get through the third. And did I mention it's gorgeous as well? [$1.99 - iTunes link]

Your Pick?

You're part of team TiPb too, so what's your pick? What app was your absolute fav last week? Let us -- and everyone -- know in the comments!

For those of you who are a bit disappointed with your current iPhone Twitter client because of the lack of a little something called "push notifications" - You must check out Twitbit 2.0. [$2.99 Sale Price - iTunes Link] We've had the pleasure of testing the 2.0 build for quite some time now and we are happy to report this update has been finely tuned while adding a boatload of new features, so many that you'll have to wait for our full review.

• A completely new look
• Push notifications for direct messages and mentions
• Rich media integration to share all of your media which now includes Flickr
• Significant performance boost
• Configuration: Set up Twitbit 2.0 exactly the way you want it
• Free updates!

Still not convinced enough to make the purchase? Try out Twitbit 2.0 Lite. [Free - iTunes Link] You'll get all of the same great features, new and old, minus push notifications and Flickr support.

Stay tuned as we will bring you a detailed review shortly!