Featured App Review-Fynch for Twitter 2013

Twitter has now become ambiguous and it’s no longer a curiosity left to those that are always online, it’s everywhere and it’s being used by pretty much everyone. With that, comes a whole lot of Twitter clients, and for a lot of us, a Twitter client defines our connection with Twitter more than anything else can. Let’s be honest though, a lot of them are the same so, what if someone tried to do a Twitter client that was different? Well, read on to see if Fynch is a different Twitter client you can use.

Description: Fynch for Twitter does things a little different, for one, it doesn’t stand on its own as a fully-fledged Twitter client. It doesn’t intend to either, Fynch is an app that’s all about getting the most out of your Twitter stream and your contacts through the use of Fynches. Featuring a brilliant Holo design, Fynch is a Twitter app that tries to slow things down and help you get the most out of your Twitter feed.

Fynches
Fynch wants to change the way you interact with your Twitter feed, by turning tweets into “Fynches”, these Fynches are what will change your interaction with your Twitter feed and then come in three different types. Here’s a quick description of each one of these:

• High Frequency Fynch: These fynches will alert you when someone you’re following has increased the amount they’re tweeting. This works well if you have a lot of sports writers or news outlets in your Twitter feed. When there’s a big game on for instance, their tweeting frequency might increase, these high frequency fynches will make sure you never miss a thing.
• Trending Topic Fynch: This fynch will let you know when someone you’re following tweets about a trending topic, this is useful if you and your friends share a lot of the same interest, and it will also let you read what news writers and the such have to say about up to the minute happenings around the world.
• Long Interval Fynch: As the name suggests, this fynch will let you know when someone in your Twitter feed tweets after a long period of silence. Particularly helpful for family and friends that don’t tweet often.  

Fynches don’t require any setup from the user, in fact Fynch will learn from your usage just what you want to be told about – and importantly, what you don’t want to hear about. So, if you were to click on tweets from Android Headlines – as you always should! – and not from CNN, you’ll get more from Android Headlines and not from CNN. Depending on how much you use the app, you should start seeing results of this after as little as two days.

How it Works: Unlike most Twitter apps, there are a couple steps you need to take in order to get the most out of Fynch, first of all you need to make sure you have the official Twitter app installed and that you’re signed-in, then download theFynch app and follow the set-up there.

All you have to do is log into Twitter and that’s that:

Once you’ve signed in to the app, you’ll see a list of example “Fynches”, tapping on each one will tell you more about what they do and why they are there:

Tapping one will give you some more info:

Once it syncs with your timeline and feed, it will star presenting your feed for you, you’ll notice that everything is very clean thanks to the Google Now styled cards and the fact that it condenses things for you:

A key feature is perhaps the ability to condense fast tweets into one card. Clicking on the Android Headlines “fynch” above for instance, will give you a rundown of our most recent tweets:

Now, if you wanted to reply or retweet, you’d be taken to the official Twitter app, however you can still click on those fun links directly from Fynch:

This aspect of the app is a little annoying but, it’s not a deal breaker and Fynch never makes any attempt to hide the fact that it’s not a full Twitter client. Overall, you’ll find that Fynch encourages a more easy-going look at your Twitter feed and for those that can’t always find the time, it’s brilliant. What’s is particularly nice about Fynch is the notifications, they’re clean and expandable in devices running 4.1 and above:

Opinion: I love Twitter, as in I love the idea of Twitter. I have nowhere near as many followers as I’d like – you’re welcome to follow me – but I follow a lot of people on there and I can really see the value in it. Checking my feed manually though? That’s a real chore in a world filled with timezones and too little time, Fynch helps in this regard by condensing things into quick and easy Google Now style cards for you to take a look at. If you’ve been away from Twitter for a few days or so and you want a quick recap of what’s been happening on your feed, then Fynch is a great app to help with that.

Ratings
Speed (4/5) – It runs well and there were no issues on the Nexus 7 or smartphones I tested it with.
Features (3/5) – It’s a little strange to judge Fynch on this because on one hand it needs the Official Twitter App to do anything but, on the other hand it offers you a completely new way of interacting with your Twitter feed.
Theme (5/5) – A combination of Holo theming and Google Now style cards? What’s not to love about that?
Overall (4/5) – It might be a strange twitter client but, it’s one worth taking a look at, and depending on how you use Twitter it might be just what you’ve been waiting for.
Pros
Finally, a truly different approach to making a Twitter client.
Brilliant Holo styling makes for a great-looking app.
Very easy to get to grips with after initial set-up, definitely something for those that can’t always find the time to trawl through that big long feed.
Fynch presents an easier way to keep up to date with what’s happening in your Twitter feed. 
Cons
Needs the official Twitter client to retweet etc.
Obsessive tweeters might need a more fully-functional app.
Conclusion: It might not be an app for everyone, especially those that are obsessed with Twitter but, Fynch is a great app for those that use Twitter to keep in touch with news, friends and family but, might not have the time to spend all day/night on the thing. Which is where the Fynches come in. You’ll be told when someone tweets after a period of inactivity for instance, and you’ll be able to have tweets from the same user grouped together, which is great for those that have friends or outlets that tweet in quick succession. It’s a nice way to sit back and relax a little bit more when using Twitter, and it’s a damn pretty app as well. RN Software have a number of apps in the Play Store, like the excellent SayIt Launcher