Filed under: Software, iPhone, iPod touch
First Look: Summizer, Twitter trends on your iPhone
Summizer (iTunes link) is an app for following trends on Twitter. Similar to a few web apps, it searches Twitter for keywords and allows you to save searches to watch for updates. It's small, simple and elegant. Use it to find out who's talking about what, or even who's talking about you. If you've ever used Twitter's tracking feature (currently disabled), you already know how this works.
The startup screen shows any trends you've added as saved searches, with a blue dot signifying new updates with those words. The first item in the list is always "Trending Topics," which shows the most common topics on Twitter at the moment. When you click a saved search or any "trending" word, you get a list of tweets containing that word or phrase. Touching a tweet reveals options for that tweet: you can always go to the user who created the tweet and see what else they're talking about, but if the tweet contains an @reply or a link, you get additional options for viewing either (links open in the built-in browser).
As with most of my favorite apps, Summizer is well-crafted and serves a single purpose with finesse. The $2.99USD pricetag might be at the high-end of the price range for a single-shot utility, but if you're a trend-watcher, it's a small price to pay; having a finger on the pulse of Twitter can be a great way to stay a step ahead of the game.
As Devil's advocate, I have to mention that some other apps, such as the Pro version of Twittelator ($4.99USD - iTunes link) can store searches and handle actual Twitter usage as well; often at the expense of the aforementioned elegance.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jonathan Chan said 9:14AM on 9-24-2008
I like following summize (search.twitter.com) when I'm on my desktop and laptop during events I'm following (sporting events, political conventions, apple/iphone news) but I don't see myself doing this on my iPhone. It's also neat to make a dashboard widget out of the trending topics.
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Dave said 9:59AM on 9-24-2008
You can follow the trending account for free:
http://twitter.com/trending
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Ernie Oporto said 12:02PM on 9-24-2008
Not worth paying for, even at $2.99
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Andy said 12:26PM on 9-24-2008
Meanwhile, Hahlo is still free.
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