On meth, new Twitter client Mixero is normal

Unlike Twitter’s page views of late, development of Twitter tools continues to head north at an unbridled pace. Even before Twitter had its Oprah moment, Twitter clients have been the most popular area for Twitter tools. Today, there is well over 50 Twitter clients, and possibly even 100 if you count iPhone apps.

Given a sea of noise, developers have two options: they either try to improve on existing ideas, or they try to innovate and bring something new to the table. New Twitter client Mixero has gone for the latter.

The problem when you try to reinvent the wheel is you have to come up with a better idea. Mixero tries awfully hard, but that’s the problem: it tries way to hard, and delivers something that is confusing, aesthetically poor, and different for the sake of it (solutions looking for problems.) It’s still in private alpha, and probably because they’re not sure if using it might cause people with certain conditions to have a fit.

Let me explain starting from the basics. Mixero is neither a single column Twitter browser, or a multi column like the popular TweetDeck or Seesmic Desktop. What it is though is difficult to describe. Mixero is a center navigation bar with columns either side (see above.) On the left hand side you have your Twitter stream, and on the right you have your contacts and “channels.” Contacts can be grouped, which is a solid idea.

From this point you have various features you can use. If you want your replies and main stream in different columns, tough luck, but you have put them in separate windows….indeed this feature is used as a selling point. Notably the only client I can think that did something close to this was Twhirl, and that was such a popular option it was abandoned when its replacement Seesmic Desktop was launched.

Mixero, unlike a number of recently launched clients doesn’t lack for features, but you’d need a great drug supplier to work them all out. You can, in no particular order, create groups, active lists, contexts, filters and channels. I should also warn, you could also be arrested for the drugs you’ll take you work all those out. Even better, there’s an iPhone version on the way as well!

The confusing array of choices aside, there are a few nice features that other clients should adopt. “Smart preview” allows you to mouse over a photo or video link and get a preview before clicking thru. Likewise, a mouseover on a short URL offers the actual link. A sort of minimal overlay bar highlighting users could be nifty for some, and is at least visually interesting.

Some reviews are saying that it’s innovative, a great solution, and even a TweetDeck killer. It’s not, however I’ll concede that maybe for the extremely patient power user with a great supply of meth, it’s a brilliant client. For everyone else, sticking your hand in a paper shredder is far easier.

Here’s the Mixero demo video: