Best Twitter Apps to download 2014

If you're looking for the best Twitter apps for iOS and Android you're in luck. We've sought out the best apps for cutting through the noise and getting the most out of this fantastic service.

So you want to stay connected, and you want the best experience. To find the best Twitter app, and there are almost as many out there as there are waffling tweeters, you’re going to need to look at your own requirements. Do you need a fire-and-forget 10 second update, or a flexible fully-featured app that you can put hours in to?

Do you want something minimal and functional or packed with features? Do you want a core Twitter experience, or something… strange? We’ve found all those things and everything in between in our roundup of the best mobile Twitter experiences. Read on!

1. UberSocial (Android, iPhone, Blackberry)

We’ve picked this one out not because it’s particularly remarkable as a whole -- although it’s pretty decent -- but because of its Ubermenu feature, a customiseable menu that lets you organise your most used features. If you’re forever fighting with your current Twitter client’s UI, this is for you.

Free / $4.99 | UberSocial

2. Twitter (all platforms)

Third party apps aren’t everything. Twitter’s own app -- following its investment in Tweetdeck, and considering its intimate knowledge of the network’s workings -- is actually one of the best apps out there, particularly in the conversation view. Before you go elsewhere, try the real thing.

Free | Twitter

3. Twidere (Android)

Many of us have multiple Twitter accounts -- let’s face it, who hasn’t started a novelty account at some point? Twidere lets you merge all of your timelines into one, and mark up specific users with colours, meaning you can get a good glance at a busy timeline even when scrolling through it at speed.

Free | Twidere

4. TweetsPie (Android)

You haven’t got time for Twitter really, have you? No. So grab TweetsPie, and you’ll only ever see the top 21 tweets from your timeline, based on their number of retweets. You can only retweet and hide users -- if you want any more interaction beyond this quick burst at a glance style, look at just about any other client. But keep this installed alongside, because the homescreen widget is actually pretty handy to have around.

Free | TweetsPie

5. Tweetcaster (Android, iOS)

Features? You want

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Best Messaging App for iPhone

Whether you've just purchased yourself a brand spanking new iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C, or whether you're tied into a lengthy contract on the ageing iPhone 4S, chances are you are going to want to use your iPhone for more than just web browsing or taking pictures.

With Apple's App store currently populated with over one million apps, there are bound to be some real gems, as well as some duds across all categories. We've searched through and picked out what we feel are the best in order to connect with your friends and family, as well as a look to some alternatives.

Obviously, there are some in built options like the Messages app that is tied in so seamlessly with iMessage, Facetime or Apple's preinstalled email application. There are, however, a variety of apps available on the App store designed to complement or replace these.

WhatsApp (First year free, $0.99 per year thereafter)

There is no way of completely replacing the messaging app within your iPhone. Being a locked down system means that Apple has total control, so completely replacing the SMS app on the iPhone is nigh on impossible.

WhatsApp was designed to replace standard SMS apps across multiple OS', so is a very comprehensive app and comes with the same features that you would expect from any decent messaging app, with the same features being familiar to anyone that has used WhatsApp before.

Rather than using a username or password, WhatsApp works with your mobile number and uses the web rather than the mobile network, therefore meaning that there are no international messaging charges (as long as you're on Wi-Fi while abroad).

WhatsApp is very popular across multiple OS' for a reason. Its highly customisable, and very easy to use to message others on the service as it connects via your mobile number.

If you decide that WhatsApp isn't for you, why not try Samsung's ChatON? Now available across multiple OS' ChatON is a well designed, comprehensive messaging app that even features a built in translator.

Skype (Free)

Skype is possibly the most well known and popular video calling service that is available on both iOS and across both mobile and desktop OS'.

Now part of the Microsoft family, Skype provides both a comprehensive messaging and calling service that almost renders Apple's FaceTime pointless.

Being more than just a video and voice calling service, Skype fully supports

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Best Camera Apps for iPhone

For many people purchasing a smartphone, having a decent camera is still one of the biggest draws. It seems forever ago that cameras were first introduced on mobile phones, with 13 years being about 6 lifetimes in the tech world.

Today's camera phones are modern wonders, and with more photos being taken on an iPhone every day than any other camera, there must be something that Apple is doing right.

The iPhone 5S now comes with an upgraded 8MP iSight camera, which Apple says is 15% larger and 33% more light sensitive than the previous model, the iPhone 5.

Apple has taken a similar approach to its newest camera as HTC did on its UltraPixel tech debuted on the HTC One. An increase in pixel size has lead to more light being taken in by each pixel, meaning better all round photography, especially in lower lighting conditions.

But let's not forget the ageing iPhone 4S also has a really decent camera that many would argue was better than many handsets released at the same time. This understandably lead to a significant amount of camera apps on the App store, should you want to get more out of your iPhone's camera, so we've trawled through and rounded up our best picks for you to chew over.

Instagram

With the photo creation and sharing app being famed for both the right and wrong reasons (anyone remember Insta-adgate?) it is easy to see why Instagram became so popular, if only to share photos of dinners and cats.

Photo sharing can be argued to be the biggest draw of Instagram, although an equal amount of people will argue its the range of filters that Instagram allows you to apply to your photographs, allowing even the most amateur of photographers feel like a pro.

The app also allows you to manage your Instagram account, viewing photos from those that you follow, and make comments. There isn't a whole lot we can say about the Instagram app, as its popularity means that most of it has already been said.

If social photography is more your thing, why don't you check out the Facebook Camera app. It is literally what it sounds like, with the app allowing you to post photos to your Facebook account quicker than ever and see what your friends are up to. 

Flickr

Flickr is a photo sharing and editing site, with a

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Spotify review

Pros

-Vibrant social features

-Excellent features

-320kbps streaming

-Exclusive content

Cons

-Clunky web player

-Poor search

-Messy organisation

In Europe at least, Spotify's success has been unparalleled. The service has become a by word for music streaming, and its star has risen fast, taking the subscription music model into the mainstream.

For a few years the lack of competition meant that Spotify's life was relatively easy, and its biggest worries were turning its free users into paid-up Spotify Premium subscribers.

However, things now aren't so simple. The likes of Google Play Music All Access, Napster, Deezer, Xbox Music, Nokia Music and now even Beats Audio muscling in on Spotify's action means life has never been tougher.

But does Spotify still have the advantage over its rivals? Or is the incumbent lagging behind the new pretenders on the streaming scene? Let's take a look.

                                            Create, share and subscribe to playlists

The catalogue

Spotify's 20 million-track catalogue was once the envy of the streaming word, and it still edges the competition.

But line up the main players of Napster and Google Play Music All Access and compare song for song, and you won't find much difference. The selection offered by streaming services is frankly awesome, but Spotify's super strong brand does give it the edge.

In the latest update to the service, it was revealed that Spotify had secured exclusive rights to the catalogue of long-time digital dodgers Led Zepplin. The company also won rights to Metallica and Pink Floyd ahead of its rivals, and shows that being the big player has huge benefits.

Being the big brand also works against them, too. In 2013 Thom Yorke famously pulled his solo work from the service citing poor returns for small bands and artists – but Erazer and Atoms for Peace are still available via Google Play.

It's a tough call but Spotify's catalogue, coupled with its power to win high profile exclusives certainly gives it an advantage over its rivals. But with the line-ups of its rivals looking strong, there's more to a service that just the selection.

                                 The desktop app works well but needs better search features

Desktop app

The premise of

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Valve SteamOS is available for download

And just like that, Valve's SteamOS is upon us.

Valve's new operating system has headed into the wild, available for consumers and OEMs alike to download and take for a ride.

But be warned - Valve advised earlier this week that for now only the most dedicated Linux users should download SteamOS, which is still in beta. The rest of us are best left waiting till 2014 to access a more finished version.

Valve isn't joking either; a SteamOS FAQ warns both the system's install methods "will erase everything on the machine," meaning only the truly committed should saddle up.

Several reports indicate there are currently issues downloading SteamOS, potentially do to a rush of eager users. If you feel competent and confident enough to give the system a spin, you can download the 960MB installer by following the link provided by Steam Database or through the instructions in the FAQ.

What we know about SteamOS

The release of SteamOS falls on the same day Valve's Steam Machine prototypes are making their way to 300 beta testers, who via email instructions can go about installing the software.

Designed to

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Dealing with disaster: how social media is helping save the world

In emergency situations, when fleeting seconds can be the difference between life and death, instant social mediums like Twitter have proved invaluable.

Whether it is members taking heed of the hashtagged, location-aware updates from those also affected by natural disasters, or others receiving vital communications from news organisations, emergency services and aid organisations on the ground, lives have undoubtedly been preserved. Beyond that, an estimated 76 per cent of Americans have used social media to let their families know they're ok, during a disaster… and that was in 2010.

However,

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Twitter Enables Perfect Forward Secrecy

Twitter Enables Perfect Forward Secrecy Across Sites To Protect User Data Against Future Decryption

Twitter has enabled Perfect Forward Secrecy across its mobile site, website and API feeds in order to protect against future cracking of the service’s encryption. The PFS method ensures that, if the encryption key Twitter uses is cracked in the future, all of the past data transported through the network does not become an open book right away.

“If

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Twitter's new app Introduces New Interface Experiments

Twitter’s New App Refines DM Experience With Suggested Users, Introduces New Interface Experiments

Twitter is in full on experimentation mode with its latest app update. We’ve talked before about how Twitter is using data to push out big changes to small amounts of people and then make judgment calls about whether to implement those updates on a larger scale.

Its latest update adds several features to everyone’s version of Twitter, but depending on which experimental bucket you’re in you might see any number of ‘versions’ of Twitter once you update your app today.

First, the changes to the app that we’ll all get to take advantage of. The release notes cover a few tweaks, including the fact that your search results can now be filtered using a variety of media types including photos, video, news and people.

The filtering can also allow you to

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