Twitter GOWidget – Android Widget to Access Twitter for GO Launcher EX

Twitter GOWidget is one of the new widgets available for GO Launcher EX, one of the most popular launchers on the Android platform and available in the market for free. Twitter GOWidget is a 4×4 homescreen widget that shows your twitter feed. Despite being a mere add-on for the main launcher, the app has a quite a few features and will surely be worth a consideration for anyone running GO Launcher EX.
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros
Lets you post, reply, retweet, favourite and message.Switch between Timeline, Mentions and Messages views.Post pictures from your phone.Quick and responsive.Scrollable.
Cons
No customizations.Does not support multiple accounts.Unable to view follower profiles.Unable to view lists.Posting pictures is a bit of a lottery.
Despite Twitter GOWidget being simply another add-on for the popular GO Launcher EX home replacement application, the app has a good number of features. The first thing you notice is how quick it is; it certainly felt quicker than using the official Twitter app. The timeline updates promptly and scrolling down to previous tweets is very zippy, even the pictures of those you follow.
Aside from the speediness, you can do most of the things you would expect; reply to posts, retweet them, add them to your favourites and send/recieve private messages. You can switch between timeline, mentions and messages fluidly and easily using the tab on the top right of the widget and everything feels quite intuitive and easy to use. You can post photos, although I found this a bit hit and miss. Some would post, others wouldn’t.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to the fact this isn’t a fully featured app, rather a widget add-on, there is limited funtionality overall. You cannot view lists or follower profiles. Like I have argued in other reviews of GO widgets, there is no customization- the widgets have a blue border and there is no way to alter this if your GO Launcher EX theme doesn’t suit it. The font size in Twitter GOWidget didn’t bother me, but for some it might be a bit on the small size for some and there is no means to increase this.
I’m certain the widget will be popular with fans of GO Launcher EX and it’s another in a growing list of widgets specifically for the launcher. It does a job, is fast, fluid, smooth and responsive. While it lacks the features and interface of fuller apps, see for example Plume or Tweetdeck for Android, it performs well and is very stable.
For GO Launcher EX users who use Twitter, this app will be a great addition to the widgets available. Posting is simple and great for tweeting on the go. For more serious and regular users of Twitter however, it might be a little on the basic side; forget having multiple accounts or viewing full profiles for example. It’s a nice little add-on but lacks the usefulness of more dedicated Twitter apps.
The speed and ease of use are the highlights of the app. I did find posting pictures a bit tricky- it was easy to do, but sometimes the pics did not post, meaning I had to find other ways of posting.
I think if you are an occasional tweeter this app will suit your fine. If say you post once or twice a day then perhaps this would be ideal. However, if you use Twitter more than that, you might find the widget a little restrictive and perhaps not your go-to Twitter client of choice.
The interface is quite simple and very much in flavour of the other GO Widgets. Functional, quick and simple to get your head around. The font size might be an issue for some people and the lack of customizations is a real drag for those of us who like our homescreens to look right.