The next version of Twhirl, currently in preview release (so not yet available for download) adds a range of new features that brings the still popular Twitter client back into the ball game.
Top of the releases is the long waited support for recording Seesmic videos from the client. Seesmic viewing support was added last year, but the client was always limited; you could watch, but not respond in video. Recording a Seesmic video is as simple as hitting the record button.
Added to the Twitter part of Thwirl is support for Ping.fm. Users can now opt to send all Tweets out to other networks, such as MySpace, Facebook, Utterli, Kwippy and many more. There is potential here for duplication, so you need to make sure that you’re not sending out to services that may already be getting your tweets, for example, I took Facebook out of my Ping.fm account because I already import tweets there, likewise FriendFeed isn’t on the list because it imports by tweets.
Also included in the release is the ability to set up search tabs based on keywords, taking it into TweetDeck territory. Every search can be activated, and per the shot above right, appears as a tab.
Privately a number of users had expressed concern that perhaps Seesmic had dropped development of Twhirl after regular updates ceased in the second half of last year; others have switched to using TweetDeck and other clients. As a Twhirl user it’s great to see the updates, and this will deal Twhirl back into contention as a desktop Twitter client of choice.