Review of the Blaq 1.7 update

Review of the Blaq 1.7 update

Blaq for the Blackberry Playbook recently received an update that has really made the application the best application for Twitter users on the Playbook.

The update brings LED notifications for Mentions, Follows and Direct Messages which is a really nice feature and what is nice about this is that they each have a different color to represent them. One thing that I wasn't a fan of was how the notifications still only work if you have the application open so they haven't quite mastered the PIM push notifications yet. Plus the little notification sign still comes up with an exclamation mark instead of the Blaq logo; but a very nice addition in general.

Another thing they've added is the ability to view your favorite tweets which isn't a massive addition, but it's nice to have; there it now also a button to view your own profile. Plus they've also brought in the new 2.0 keyboard into the equation with auto correct and all the new fun jazz you get with 2.0's keyboard.

Something I've noticed since the update is how much smoother the application runs, the scrolling has no choppiness to it anymore and there's no stuttering and the sliding animations are far more fluid than they were in version 1.6. Again this isn't a massive addition to the application, but it's a Twitter app that features almost everything you need and so now any updates that come now are just going to make it cleaner and smoother. I have also noticed a slight speed increase when sending a Tweet or when clicking on different options within the application.

A couple small things that have also been added to the application is the ability to Bookmark your place on your Tweetline using 'Tweet Market's. Which basically puts a bookmark on your latest Tweet in your timeline so that when you go back the application, you know where you were. Plus you can turn the option to show someone's 'Klout' score when you click on their profile. I don't quite get what this is, but it's there if you want it!

In summary, the new 1.7 version of Blaq feels like what version 1.6 was trying to be but failed. It feels more solid and reliable and the few new features that have been added give a more complete and solid Twittering experience to the application. From now on, any update that is brought to this application will be a huge surprise as right now, I can't think of anything else it could do with. Actually, maybe a slight speed increase, but then I think every application could be snappier!