ADMITTEDLY, I wasn?t so hung up on Twitter when I first gave it a go about half a year ago. My initial reaction was a common one??Huh? How different can Twitter be from Facebook status messages??

As any Twitter convert will tell you, Tweeting is very different.

I started Tweeting more actively when I downloaded a Twitter application on my laptop instead of merely sending messages from the web. All of a sudden, it was easier to send, read and sort through Tweets without the endless hassle of refreshing my browser window.

To use an old-school reference, it was like discovering mIRC for the first time after using browser-based chat websites for ages.

But no two Twitter applications are exactly alike. Readwriteweb.com reports that the Twitter Fan Wiki lists 209 (and counting!) Twitter applications to make Tweeting more fun, but there are definitely more than that if you comb the web carefully.

While the applications have different purposes, or are used to cater to a specific market (like Mac or Windows users), that?s still a gut-busting number of applications for a single program or site.

How do you filter the useful from the unnecessary, the inspired from the insipid?

Super handpicks the best Twitter applications in our book for reading your Tweets.

Tweetdeck

The application that converted many a cynic, Tweetdeck makes life simple for the laziest microbloggers. Compatible with Mac OSX and Microsoft Windows (and convertible by manual installation to Linux), Tweetdeck?s interface is simple, elegant and easy to use.

You can have several columns for easy viewing on the latest on your news feed, replies and personal messages. You can also customize it to reflect Facebook status message updates (and sync updates if you please, for the truly lazy), set groups, or view a tag cloud.

Best of all, you don?t have to visit an external site like TinyURL and TwitPic to shorten web addresses or upload photos. Simple, effective and fast?just remember to fix the settings so you?re not forced to put up with the Twitter bird?s annoying chirping every time you get an update.
Score: 5/5

Twitterrific
Sadly for Windows users, this easy-to-use application is devoted exclusively to Mac fanatics. But if you?re using Apple gadgets such as the iPhone, you?ll love this well-designed application that won the 2008 Apple Design Award for Best iPhone Social Networking Application.

It also offers an impressive number of keyboard shortcuts. But as majority of the world?s users still use PCs, its limited reach disappoints.
Score: 3.5/5

Twhirl
The best application for you if you like things bright and cheery instead of sleek and sophisticated. We love it that Twhirl automatically shortens long URLs (via TinyURL) and sends photos to TwitPic. You can also use it to cross-post your other social networks.

However, it just doesn?t have the complete one-button functionality of TweetDeck?and guys may be put off by the brightness of the site.
Score: 4/5

Twitteroo
If Mac users have their own Twitter application, then why shouldn?t diehard Windows fanatics have theirs?

An application that works with Windows XP or Vista, it basically does the same thing that Twitterfic does, minus the fancy design. Which goes to say there isn?t much to be said about the blah interfact of Twitteroo. But it does the job, so who?s complaining?
Score: 3/5

Twitterfox
A pop-up application that works with both Mac and Windows operating systems, Twitterfox has to be used with Firefox as an extension or add-on. So no Internet Explorer or Safari for you?it has to be Firefox.

It?s a great idea if you want to be besieged with pop-up Twitter messages while you?re surfing the Internet (you can change the settings, though), but it can be limiting. Thumbs down in terms of versatility and design, but great if your office or school has a firewall preventing you from downloading other programs.
Score: 3/5