Before I got my Palm Pre, I hardly understood what Twitter was.  … But that was so June 2009.

I initially joined Twitter to sing my praises of the Palm Pre, but as I’ve come to find out, it’s much more than just a sounding board.  It’s a community.  It’s a search engine.  And for many people?  Instant tech support!

After the break, read on to see how Twitter can make you a Palm Pre/Pixi expert…

Many people unwittingly learn how Twitter can play a role in their lives.  Learning about your Palm Pre or Palm Pixi is no exception.  Oftentimes a person will tweet about a problem or a question, usually just to vent frustration.  In an instant, several complete strangers will reply, offering their suggestions to resolve the problem.  This does two things:  one, it hopefully solves your problem, and two, it introduces you to a thriving, tight-knit webOS community that you can count on for everything Palm.

“But I’ve never used Twitter in my life! How do I get started? “

Everyone has to start somewhere!  That’s where you come in.  On a computer, go to http://twitter.com and create a Twitter account.  It takes literally less than 5 minutes.

Some advice: when you create your “pet name,” try and keep it short. When people respond to your tweets, they’ll have that many more characters left when they send you a message!

“I want to use Twitter on my Palm Pre/Pixi. Which apps are there?”

If you like using Twitter and have a Palm Pre or Pixi, you’re in luck.  There are currently five great Twitter apps for you to choose from… see which one best suits your needs:

1) “Tweed” by Pivotal Labs: Currently the most popular webOS Twitter app, Tweed gives  you a clean but very powerful interface.  It’s not the sexiest looking app out there, but is certainly one of the most powerful apps available, giving you the ability to do multiple card searches, direct posting of pictures (paid version), conversation view, saved searches, multiple accounts, landscape mode, shake-to-refresh searches, URL shrinking, live notifications… with few exceptions, if you name it, Tweed does it.
Full version: $1.99 for limited time. (Soon to be $3.99)

PROS:
- Tons of powerful features
- Live notifications even with app closed
- Multiple card searches
- Easy to use
- Free trial version available

CONS:
- Saved searches don’t save to Twitter, only within Tweed.
- Plain interface
- Notifications buggy from time to time for some users

2) “Twee” by Delicious Morsel: The folks at Delicious Morsel have indeed cooked up a delicious Twitter app that has been a huge hit with many users.  Sporting a sexy interface with a scrolling bottom slider, Twee is not short on powerful features, either.  It does pretty much everything that Tweed does, but does not do multiple card searches (yet). Still, it does other things that Tweed doesn’t, such as thumbnail previews of pictures so you don’t have to tap on a picture link to see it.  Some people have complained Twee can have lag issues.  Full version: $2.99

PROS:
- Beautiful interface
- Lots of extra goodies (nearby tweets, pic preview, stocktwit)
- Saved searches saved to Twitter
- Free trial version available

CONS:
- Some have reported occasional lag issues
- No multiple card searches
- Some tasks (like bookmarking) require more taps than they should

3) “Spaz” by Funkatron Productions:  Spaz is the only open-source Twitter app for the Palm Pre, and currently the only one that is FREE.  Spaz sports a very attractive face and a unique browsing experience:  your entire timeline and replies to you are shown in one window, which is nice if you don’t like switching from page to page. Spaz also supports powerful functions like multiple card searches (like Tweed) and thumbnail previews (like Twee), though it currently lacks direct photo uploading.  Some have complained of lag issues if the app is left open for a long time.
Full version: FREE (for now)

PROS:
- FREE!
- Multiple card searches
- Timelines, direct messages, and replies in same window (if desired)
- Thumbnail previews of posted pictures

CONS:
- Some have reported lag issues if open for extended periods
- No direct photo uploading (uses email app to do it)
- Accidental backswipe makes you have to log back into your account (takes no time at all, but still annoying)

4) “TinyTwitter” by Tiny Byte Software: If you feel the need for SPEED, then TinyTwitter is your app.  This app is easily the cheetah of the animal kingdom of webOS Twitter apps, with incredibly fast loading/posting times and scrolling speeds. No lag issues here! Unfortunately, TinyTwitter is fast because it packs light:  it’s just a bare-bones Twitter app without fancy features, even some basic ones according to some…  Price: $1.99

PROS:
- Fastest Twitter client for webOS
- Can be left open all day without any lag issues

CONS:
- Very bare-bones Twitter client
- No free trial available

5) “Fleet Tweet” by 8-bit development: Don’t care what other people have to say? Do you want to be the one who does all the tweeting?  Meet Fleet Tweet, a very basic FREE (read: ad-supported) Twitter client that does one thing: tweet! No loading feeds here. Curiously, this app DOES include features like direct photo uploading and buttons for exclamation marks and hashtags (#). This app is nice for those who need a tool to post frequent updates:  tweets from a convention, concert, etc. Price: FREE

PROS:
- FREE
- Direct photo uploads to Twitter

CONS:
- Ad-supported

“Okay I have a Twitter account and Twitter app on my Palm Pre/Pixi…  now what??”

Getting “plugged in” to Palm’s Twitter community is easy!  You can get help in one of two ways…

1) Tweet your question to EVERYBODY!
Just make a tweet in 140 characters or less (unless you’re Chuck Norris, in which case you can do it in 141 characters) asking your Palm Pre/Pixi related question.  Make sure you include the following words in your tweet:  ”Palm Pre” or #palmpre.  That way, anyone skimming tweets that are anything Palm-related will find your question and help you out.  Luckily for you Palm Pixi owners, just “Pixi” could be enough to get heard, since there’re not many things out there that can be confused with that word.

2) Tweet your question to someone specifically.
When you want to talk to someone in particular, use the “@” symbol before the person’s ID. For example, if you want to write me at vara411, you’d write “@vara411.” That way I’d get the question directly and we can chat.  Other than myself, you can also write @Blayze04 or @FoneFrenzy for help. They are both writers for a Palm Pre blog called PreThinking and are very friendly and knowledgeable with an eagerness to help out with all things Palm Pre/Pixi.

“Who should I follow on Twitter for Palm stuff?”

@Pre101 <- This blog’s twitter feed, of course.

@Palm <- This is Palm’s Twitter account.  Follow them for Palm news, but do not, do NOT ask them random help questions expecting a reply!  Do you know how many they get a day? Ask others for help (see above).

@PalmNewApps <- Want to know what apps are being added to the App Catalog before anyone else? Follow these guys.

@PreCentral <- If you want to be in the know of all major happenings with Palm, these guys are IT.

@vara411 <- I’m always tweeting stuff about Palm, though I tend to do it… a lot! Follow me at your own risk!

@Blayze04, @bnceo, @RyanGahl, @asmathews, @phoenixshield <- Same as above!

@palmdoc <- Always tweeting a thing or two about his Palm Pre all the way from Malaysia!

That should get you started! Best of luck and see you on Twitter!

Dan Ramirez is a physician and Palm Pre devotee. You can follow him on Twitter or read more about his adventures at his blog.

[edited to add a few more names to follow]

Tweed

Tweed, developed by Pivotal labs, is one of the two original Twitter applications available in the App Catalog today. To change to different views, click on a drop-down menu in the upper right.  Tweed currently does not support seeing mentions and your normal feed simultaneously.  When clicking on a tweet a pop-up menu gives you options to mark as favorite, @reply, Retweet, and mark the tweet.  In addition, it calls out any URLs, @names or #topics in the tweet.  Tweed supports multiple simultaneous accounts in different cards.

Reviews: Tweed on PreCentral, Tweed at WebOS App Review

Spaz

Spaz, the other Twitter client available at launch, is a dark-themed client from Funkatron Productions.  Spaz merges your @mentions in with your regular timeline.  Spaz does not appear to let you check trends without backing out to the beginning screen of the application.  In addition to supporting Twitter, Spaz supports Identi.ca and Laconica and there is a desktop version available.

Reviews: Spaz on PreCentral, Spaz at WebOS App Review

Twee

Twee by Delicious Morsel is currently in beta.  Although beta, Twee is quite polished.  Twee supports a unique menu bar along the bottom of the screen.  Another unique feature is the ability to search for nearby tweets, using the GPS location service.  The last two features on the command bar are Twiturly and Stocktwits, which may be of interest to some.  Clicking on a tweet brings up a detail page where links can be clicked and tweets can be replied to or retweeted.  There is currently no support for clicking URLs in the timeline view. You can sign up for the beta at the Delicious Morsel Web site linked above.

Review: Twee on PreCentral

Sending Pictures

All three clients support sending pictures.  Currently, the only method available to send photos involves attaching the picture to an e-mail, so you must have e-mail set up on your Pre.  The three clients support a varying number of different twitter picture services, with Tweed allowing custom services.  In addition to an e-mail account you must have set up an account with the picture service you wish to use.  E-mails sent to the services will be turned into tweets and posted automatically for you.

Reviews

In addition to the reviews linked above check out this Tweed and Flickr article at PreCentral.