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I totally admit to being a Twitteraholic. Heck, even the BBGeeks site itself is on Twitter. So when I found TwitterBerry, you better believe the first thing I did was download and install it. Below you’ll find an overview/guide of the new Twitter application for the BlackBerry which was made by Orangatame Software.

As always, before you download the application, you can take a look at a video preview we made of the application so you can “try before you buy” without having to download it yourself (and as usual, the application is free, but you get what we mean):

NOTE: Before you download the TwitterBerry Application for your BlackBerry, you will have to ensure that you are meeting the minimum system requirements and have a supported device. You will need:

* BlackBerry OS 4.0.2+
* BlackBerry Internet Browsing Service (BIS-B or BIBS)

And must be using one of the following devices:

* BlackBerry 7100(g,i,r)
* BlackBerry 7105t
* BlackBerry 7130(c,e,g)
* BlackBerry 7290
* BlackBerry 7510
* BlackBerry 7520
* BlackBerry 8100 (Pearl)
* BlackBerry 8300
* BlackBerry 8700
* BlackBerry 8703e
* BlackBerry 8707v
* BlackBerry 8800
* BlackBerry 8830

Downloading the software

Getting the new TwitterBerry application for your BlackBerry is pretty dang easy. Simply head on over to the following URL and click on the one of the links under the “download now” heading (you are given the choice to load it to your USB or download it over the net):
Download the TwitterBerry application for BlackBerry smartphones here.

Clicking this link will take you over to the official Orangatame Software download page. Here you will be presented with two options as mentioned above. The first is to load via USB to your BlackBerry (available to Internet Explorer Only). The second option is to download the app straight to your BlackBerry over the air (only a good option for those with unlimited data plans).

Choose your desired method and click the link. If you chose over the air, you’ll be prompted to install it. If you downloaded to USB, you’ll need to upload the application to your BlackBerry and then install it.

That’s it folks. You will now see a small Twitter icon on your BlackBerry display. Click this icon, enter your username and password for Twitter and begin Tweeting on TwitterBerry!

Overview

TwitterBerry allows you to access all of the basic functions of Twitter. Every time you click on the T icon, you’ll be presented with a screen that asks you “What are you doing?”. Here you’ll type your latest Twitter message. As with the online version, you’ll be limited to 140 characters a message. As you type, the number of available characters left will go down.

Click on the menu button and you’ll see a list pop up that gives you a few options. Friend’s timeline will allow you to see what your friends are doing and the get replies feature will allow you to see the latest replies to @yourusername. The public timeline will allow you to see the latest tweets being sent out by the general public.

While TwitterBerry is a great app for keeping up with Twitter while on the road better than you can with SMS, there are still several things we’d love to eventually see supported including that currently are not:

* the ability to direct message someone
* the ability to view saved direct mesages (aka, your inbox)
* the ability to favorite entries and to also be able to access your favorites
* the ability to add new people you’d like to follow
* the ability to get more than one page of replies or timelines

There is however, one major problem with TwitterBerry - the unreliablity of the site that offers it. Sometimes the site goes down for a few days and then comes back up. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing when it will have uptime or downtime, so if you click on the link and don’t go anywhere, we’re sorry for the inconvenience - try again in a few days and see if the site comes back up. In spite of that though, if you GET the app, it works fantastically. We’ve made several attempts to contact the folks at Orangatame Software to no avail. We’ll keep you posted. And while you’re on Twitter, subscribe to BBGeeks there and we’ll keep you abreast of any updates in regards to the TwitterBerry app.

Additionally, if you really like Twitter (have we mentioned that we do?) then you might want to check out these other guides to various applications you can use to access and post on Twitter that can save you some time and effort:

- Twitterfox Review
- Review of the Twhirl Twitter Client
- Using Netvibes as a Client for Twitter
- Review of TwitterTools to integrate Wordpress and Twitter
- Twittering and Twitterific - A Review
- Twitterfeed Review
- Twitter and TwitBin - Microblogging Made Easy
- and for fun: The Guide to Being a Drunken, Debaucherous Twit

UPDATE

The good folks at Oangatame have updated the TwitterBerry application and included a bunch of new features for the Twitter community. Read more about the TwitterBerry 0.6 release here.

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