One of the most popular Twitter clients on Android, Falcon Pro, has come back to the Play Store. The app was removed after problems with Twitter’s token limit, but the new v3 update promises to have dealt with that issue.
Falcon Pro has always been hailed as one of the most gorgeous Android apps, and Falcon Pro 3 (FP3) lives up to its billing with a complete overhaul following Android Lollipop’s material design guidelines. The app looks gorgeous, but several features are still missing, so you might not want to pay for it just yet.
Download: Falcon Pro 3 for Android
The design makeover is propped up by several changes under the hood that make FP3 blazing fast. In a side-by-side comparison with other apps like Robird and Plume, FP3 came out on top in smoothness while switching columns and scrolling.
You can use multiple Twitter accounts and tweet from them at the same time. The Compose box is actually quite cool, especially since it shows you a preview of your image gallery to quickly attach a photo.
The Interactions pane shows you mentions, retweets and favourites — not something you get in most Twitter clients apart from the official app.
Timelines and lists are beautiful to browse and feature media previews. However, there isn’t a built-in browser, like what you get in Talon, a feature-packed but fluid Twitter app.
However, the number of missing items in FP3 is far too high to make it worth the $4 and upwards you have to pay.
FP3 is free to download, and you can try out a few free lists to see what it looks like. But if you want to use your own account, you’ll have to pay $3.99 as an in-app purchase. FP3 supports multiple accounts, but each additional account is another $1.99 — presumably, this is to stop people from abusing the Twitter token limit.
The bad news is that if you had paid for Falcon Pro in the past, you’ll have to fork over your money all over again. It’s a move reminiscent of the beautiful iOS Twitter app Tweetbot 3, which charged existing users for an upgrade to the new version. Developer Joaquim Verges’s Google+ post about the app release is full of disgruntled existing customers who don’t think they should have to pay for the upgrade.
Lifehacker writer Eric Ravenscraft offers a different perspective: “It’s work to create software. I don’t think it’s right to say it’s ‘unfair’ for a developer to get paid for an entirely new version of an app. You can’t reasonably expect that paying less than $5 for something once guarantees you get free development work for the rest of your life.”
Do you think Verges is justified in charging existing customers for Falcon Pro 3? Would you pay if you already had the old Falcon Pro? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Falcon Pro has always been hailed as one of the most gorgeous Android apps, and Falcon Pro 3 (FP3) lives up to its billing with a complete overhaul following Android Lollipop’s material design guidelines. The app looks gorgeous, but several features are still missing, so you might not want to pay for it just yet.
Download: Falcon Pro 3 for Android
What’s New And What’s Missing In Falcon Pro 3?
The design makeover is propped up by several changes under the hood that make FP3 blazing fast. In a side-by-side comparison with other apps like Robird and Plume, FP3 came out on top in smoothness while switching columns and scrolling.
You can use multiple Twitter accounts and tweet from them at the same time. The Compose box is actually quite cool, especially since it shows you a preview of your image gallery to quickly attach a photo.
The Interactions pane shows you mentions, retweets and favourites — not something you get in most Twitter clients apart from the official app.
Timelines and lists are beautiful to browse and feature media previews. However, there isn’t a built-in browser, like what you get in Talon, a feature-packed but fluid Twitter app.
However, the number of missing items in FP3 is far too high to make it worth the $4 and upwards you have to pay.
- There is no column for Direct Messages at the moment. You’ll need a different app for that.
- You can’t mute users or hashtags. You’ll need other ways to silence or filter annoying people.
- No settings. No really, there is nothing you can do to tweak the app to your liking. Power users are better off with something like Tweetings, one of the most customizable Twitter apps on Android.
- No interaction buttons or gestures in the main timeline. You have to interrupt your flow and be taken to that tweet in a new column to retweet, reply, favourite or share.
- No customizable notifications, which was one of the big draws of the earlier version.
Yes, It’s Paid — Even If You Bought The Old Version
FP3 is free to download, and you can try out a few free lists to see what it looks like. But if you want to use your own account, you’ll have to pay $3.99 as an in-app purchase. FP3 supports multiple accounts, but each additional account is another $1.99 — presumably, this is to stop people from abusing the Twitter token limit.
The bad news is that if you had paid for Falcon Pro in the past, you’ll have to fork over your money all over again. It’s a move reminiscent of the beautiful iOS Twitter app Tweetbot 3, which charged existing users for an upgrade to the new version. Developer Joaquim Verges’s Google+ post about the app release is full of disgruntled existing customers who don’t think they should have to pay for the upgrade.
Lifehacker writer Eric Ravenscraft offers a different perspective: “It’s work to create software. I don’t think it’s right to say it’s ‘unfair’ for a developer to get paid for an entirely new version of an app. You can’t reasonably expect that paying less than $5 for something once guarantees you get free development work for the rest of your life.”
Do you think Verges is justified in charging existing customers for Falcon Pro 3? Would you pay if you already had the old Falcon Pro? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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