Weekly Web App Review: Hahlo

Do you microblog, A.K.A. Twitter? Tired of using SMS for sending your tweets? Are you looking for another way to interact with Twitter on the go? Look no further than Hahlo. Hahlo is Dean J. Robinson's latest creation; Hahlo is an optimized interface for Twitter using Twitter's own API's. This free web app has just reached version 3. So what does Hahlo do for you that SMS doesn't? Read on to find out!

Starting Out

After signing up for a free Twitter account, you can start using Hahlo. After logging in you are presented with four tabs, the default being your Twitter profile. This screen contains your picture, website and other basic information. It even includes a number of who is following you and whom you are following. My favorite? How many updates (I am currently at 1002).

The bottom of the screen shows your latest tweet and you can also change your settings. I was very surprised by the setting screen. The interface is set up almost exactly like an iPhone app, right down to the little sliders to indicate if something is on or off. Hahlo delivers in the settings area. You can choose to turn off inline replies, messages and so on. You can even use your own custom desktop colors!

Moving beyond your profile, you can view your friends tweets on one of the other tabs and an archive of just your tweets are available. You can star or reply to this posts all from within Hahlo. You even have the ability to delete tweets here too… the developer has thought of everything!

If you want to reply to a tweet, it could not be made any easier. For any tweet you are looking at, tap the @ symbol and enter away.

If you want to send off a tweet, all you have to do is tap the icon located in the top right corner called "tweet" and type away. Of course, as you are typing it also lists how many characters out of the 160 allotments you have left.

Conclusion

If you love Twitter, this is a virtual no-brainer. There are other iPhone-optimized sites for Twitter, such as Pocket-Tweets, but Hahlo version 3 keeps getting better with every iteration and continually raises the bar. Look no further than Hahlo for an all-around Twitter client for your iPhone.

What is new in this version:

• Restyled interface, introducing all-new 'stack' style menu, and tabbed navigation on some screens.
• Built-in search capabilities made possible by the API provided by Summize.com
• Customisable 'home' page
• Avatar and text size settings
• Inline replies and direct messages
• User profiles - just like the sidebar in twitter
• Improved auto-refresh for the friends timeline
• Refresh buttons on almost all timelines
• Added ability to add new friends, as well as follow/unfollow functions and ability to turn notifications on/off
• Hashtags are auto-linked in timelines
• New popup sub-menus when you tap on a users name or avatar
• Countless bug fixes and enhancements to make the overall Hahlo experience even better

Ratings (out of 5)

• Look and Feel: 5
• Navigation: 5
• Features: 5
• Reliability: 5

Overall: 5 a perfect score!!!!

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Every Twitter feature you could want!
• Looks good
• Intuitive

Cons:

• I can find none other than when the app loads over EDGE... it can be painful