MetroTwit – A Simple Twitter Client for Windows that Delivers

In my search for a light yet efficient Twitter client for my Windows desktop, I came across MetroTwit. Though it’s for all versions of Windows, it’s optimized for Windows 7 and requires .NET Framework 4.0. They do warn that since it is still in beta, “you will run into bugs and crashes.” All of their features and functionality are not yet complete but they are diligently working on completing them. When it comes to Twitter clients, I’m extremely picky. Yet, after a thorough evaluation I have decided to use MetroTwit as my main Twitter client for Windows. Here’s why.

Columns

I love Twitter clients that have columns because I find it easier to keep up with everything at once (timeline, replies, messages, etc). MetroTwit’s columns can be resized and reordered. The above picture shows you the different types of columns that you can add. Columns are automatically refreshed, but there is also a refresh button if you want to do so manually.

Notification Alerts

Alerts are displayed on the bottom right corner of your screen in toaster fashion. Though there are not any customization options for the toasters, you can select which items you’d like to be notified about. You can also choose to enable a notification sound for specific items as well. Notifications show you “excerpts from new tweet updates as they cycle through.”

Windows 7 Taskbar Integration

There is an option to keep MetroTwit in the taskbar when minimized, or send to the notifications area. If you have Windows 7 then you’ll want to keep it in the taskbar to reap the benefits of the unread messages counter. You can also choose which items are included in that counter under settings. In the preview window (that you get when clicking on the icon) also has a refresh option.

Other great features include:

• URL shortening via bit.ly (use your own account & API key).
• Auto-completion when typing usernames and hashtags.
• Both a “night” (dark) and “day” (light) theme to choose from.
• The option to delete DMs (something that really comes in handy).
• Conversation view and option to map a tweet (though these do not seem to be functional yet).
• Clicking on a user’s name brings up a mobile style profile (which can also be added as a new column) within the app.

MetroTwit is probably one of the most simple yet elegant Twitter clients I’ve seen for Windows. It’s perfect for what I was looking for. Something like Tweetdeck can be so bulky and HootSuite is so bloated now with all the new features. MetroTwit helps me keep up with Twitter and I don’t have to sacrifice PC speed or resources. Sounds like a winner to me!

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