Tapbots has finally unleashed their highly anticipated Tweetbot client through the Mac App Store after several months of testing. The final 1.0 version feature features many of the features from its iOS counterpart, and syncs with Tweetbot for iOS using iCloud.
The app isn’t cheap, however – it’s priced at $20. That may seem like a lot of money, but Paul Haddad of Tapbots explains the pricing on their official blog, noting that it is largely due to Twitter’s recent API changes, which limit users and discourage development of clients like Tweetbot:
Because of Twitter’s recent enforcement of token limits, we only have a limited number of tokens available for Tweetbot for Mac. These tokens dictate how many users Tweetbot for Mac can have. The app’s limit is separate from, but much smaller than, the limit for Tweetbot for iOS. Once we use up the tokens granted to us by Twitter, we will no longer be able to sell the app to new users. Tapbots will continue to support Tweetbot for Mac for existing customers at that time.
This limit and our desire to continue to support the app once we sell out is why we’ve priced Tweetbot for Mac a little higher than we’d like. It’s the best thing we can do for the long term viability of the product. We know some will not be happy about Tweetbot for Mac’s pricing, but the bottom line is Twitter needs to provide us with more tokens for us to be able to sell at a lower the price. We spent a year developing this app and it’s the only way for us to be able to make our money back and continue supporting it with updates in the future. Feel free to let Twitter know how you feel about it.
Realistically, $20 is not an outrageous price for a Mac app, especially one as feature rich as Tweetbot for Mac. It’s only been in recent years. with the plethora of cheap apps available through the iOS App Store, that users have come to expect rock-bottom prices for apps.
Here’s a highlight of the feature included with the app:
◆ Multiple Timelines. Quickly switch between your lists as your main timeline.
◆ Multiple Windows and Columns. Display timelines from different accounts side by side.
◆ Notification Center Support.
◆ Beautiful Retina graphics.
◆ Mute filters lets you block messages from users without unfollowing them. You can also mute hashtags and specific keywords.
◆ Sync timeline position, direct message read statuses and mute filters between your Mac, iPhone and iPad via iCloud.
◆ Support for multiple services like Pocket, Instapaper, Readability, CloudApp and Droplr.
◆ Save drafts, add locations and POI’s, attach photos/videos, manage your lists, and much more.
Tweetbot for Mac is available immediately from the Mac App Store for $20. For more information, or to purchase, visit the Tapbots website or check it out on the Mac App Store:
