Chalk - Bubble UI Mode

I personally love iChat's bubbles; ever since it was first released I knew it was the only IM client for me. None of the others cut it! Similarly, on iPhone, there are only two Twitter clients I could ever stand using: Twinkle, and Tweetie. Both have bubbles in different forms as the default tweet style; presumably that is also a subconscious reason that makes me prefer those clients? From the start I planned a bubble mode in Chalk. In fact, the reason behind me making Chalk was to replace Twinkle on my iPhone, as Tapulous had just released the 1.3 update which virtually undid all the sweet UI design work Louie Mantia had done for Twinkle, losing me as a fan. Tweetie hadn't even been announced at the time, and the only other decent-looking alternative was Twitterrific, which I didn't like at all. I decided I might as well roll my own, so I'd have complete control over how it looks and works (funnily, I do that a lot…). I didn't think the iChat style was appropriate, as it gives the impression that this is an IM service, which Twitter is not (although some use it as such). Instead, I made it more similar to Twinkle; here's how it looks in the current build of Chalk: It's still a work-in-progress; I know some people won't like the orange but I would like to keep the branding and design coherent throughout the project (I'm using the same colours as the app icon). Remember, of course, that the bubble UI is optional - there is also the professional mode as seen in my previous blog post. Right now, thankfully, I've managed to get it running fast and smoothly with both visual styles. I'll keep you updated as I go along.