To be completely fair, I have to say that even if there was a completely perfect, beautiful, simple to use twitter client for the Nokia N8 which was the best of all the experiences, I wouldn't switch back from the iPhone to it for social networks because for me the lack of japanese input and display support is a huge limitation. Nevertheless, I still think I can be fair in comparing some twitter clients here.
In the iPhone4, I'm using the official Twitter client. In the N9 I have the official (Nokia branded) "Social" application, a version of "Gravity" and "Different Tack" to compare.
iPhone4 - Twitter
Here the application looks like almost any iOS application. The operation is quite intuitive and there is nothing I do usually I haven't found how to do in seconds. In the end, I always choose the iPhone for twitter even with the official twitter client only, because it's fast, looks great, and supports all the languages I need to write-in and read.
Nokia N8 - Social
This is the application that comes preinstalled with the N8. The looks are pretty simple and completely in tune with all the Nokia-provided applications (like the Ovi Store and now IM for Nokia, too). Even if I think it is too slow (maybe because it seems to be WRT-based), it is a quite usable application with a very pleasant look. Most of the things I use to do on twitter are directly available and it also features facebook support, though without notifications or chat.
In all, the Social app's Twitter client is quite straightforward to use, though a bit slow. But it is free and it features direct connection to your Contact List (which is also true for Facebook)
Nokia N8 - Gravity
Though Gravity's main target seems to be Twitter, it also features support for other Networks like Facebook and Foursquare. I personally like the way it works, though I can't get to completely like the looks. None of the two available themes in the demo fits my need of simplicity and minimalism. That said, Gravity is the client with the most features of the 3 symbian ones here:
- slide to change source (timeline, friends, mentions) in twitter
- foursquare - and I have to say this is faster than the official foursquare application for Symbian^3, so if you like to be posting your location you want to give it a try
- embedded youtube (maybe also others) video watching in twitter - which doesn't come in Social and definitely doesn't come in the iPhone's Twitter client.
Nokia N8 - Different Tack
The whole idea of how the application works here is really innovative, though, I think it is too slow and too complex for real day-to-day usage: The complete user interface paradigm is based on a wheel you rotate to select among different options. That is completely OK for the application's menu, but for the rest, like for browsing your timeline, it can prove a bit too complex. I rather prefer to "pull" the timeline to go up and down than be rolling a wheel until I find what I want. I may change my mind on this, too, but right now, having used both gravity and different tack for 1 day or so, I can't get used to the latter easily.
Conclusion
If your main device is an iPhone or an iPod, I wouldn't switch platforms to Symbian just for the twitter client. Specially not if you depend on asian languages. The official Twiter client for the iPhone provides all the completely-required features already, but there's plenty of paid applications if you want something the official client doesn't provide.
If instead you have a Nokia N8, you definitely want to have Social installed and running. Maybe not using a widget on your home screen, but you want it for associating your contacts to facebook and twitter. May come in hand sometimes.
Regarding "Different Tack" it is something worth trying, but I think it still needs a couple more rounds before it is usable as a day-to-day on-the-go twitter client. Given you have some disk space left, you may want to try it, too.
Finally, if you will depend on the N8 for twitter,... you have to think of buying Gravity. You can give it a chance for 10 days in demo mode before deciding if you need or want it.
