Why do I say that? Twitter, until recently did not have push-notifications for its Twitter for iPhone application (& it's still no where near as powerful as Boxcar). When I began using Twitter, I wanted to know in real-time who was communicating with me. I did not want check-in to see if someone had pinged me. My desire is to use Twitter as the real-time information tool that it can be. And, Boxcar allows me to do this.
What's powerful about Boxcar?
- Its ability to catch all mentions, @ replies and all RTs. Boxcar will push-notify you of any tweets where you are mentioned, all the @ replies, and maybe best of all, "new school" and "old school" RTs. If you use Twitter's web interface, "new school" RTs will appear under "Your Tweets, Retweeted" and "old school" RTs will appear under "mentions." Boxcar doesn't care and delivers them all. Boxcar will even catch tweets that Twitter won't! For example, if you tweet something and a follower "old school" RTs you and then one of their followers "new school" RTs them you won't see that anywhere on Twitter since you aren't being retweeted, it's your follower that is. But, Boxcar still catches it and notifies you. Very powerful.
- Its ability to show you your tweets that have been marked "favorite" by others. I don't know of another tool that shows you this & definitely Twitter does not. (Yes, folks don't always "favorite" tweets because they like them, instead maybe using it as a bookmarking feature. Regardless, it's great to see it anyway.)
- Its ability to show you new followers. I don't receive 100% of emails from Twitter when I have a new follower. But, I know with Boxcar I will see them all.
- Its ability to show you new lists you've been added to. I don't regularly check the lists I am on from the Twitter interface but I am definitely interested when Boxcar notifies me. It's also an instant way to say "thanks" to those who have listed you.
- Its ability to notify you of direct messages. I don't have to wait for an email to know I have a direct message. Again, I like instant notifications.
- Its ability to open my Twitter for iPhone app. When I receive a notification and I "unlock" my phone to view the message, Boxcar will automatically open my Twitter for iPhone app. (It supports a number of other third-party Twitter applications, too.)
Boxcar helps me make Twitter more powerful, usable and allows me to respond quickly - just like I received a text message.
Boxcar also has a host of other services it will notify you of, including, Facebook, Gowalla, Foursquare, email, RSS and more. A complete list is here.
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