Twitterrific 5 takes the freemium route, demands in-app purchases for advanced features

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Iconfactory has just issued a new version of Twitterrific in the App Store. Previously a $2.99 download, the new Twitterrific version 5.7 has changed the business model from paid to free. Sort of.

The iPhone and iPad application, now supported by revenue from Deck Network ads displayed at the top of the timeline, is available free of charge for new customers, but some of the more advanced features like push notifications, Today view, ad removal and tweet translation are hidden behind a one-time in-app purchase.

That’s an interesting change for Iconfactory, but what about Twitter-imposed token limits? Developer Sean Heber ensures customers that Iconfactory has grandfathered a whole lot of tokens so going free should not be a concern. Besides, they can always switch from the freemium model back to the paid one…

If you’ve previously purchased Twitterrific, don’t worry – you’ll be grandfathered into the new model and continue to have complete access to all of the app’s features.

Here’s the fine print:

This version offers in-app purchases to unlock additional paid features such as push notifications, the Today View, tweet translation and removal of ads from the timeline. Existing paid customers already have complete access to these features, no further action is required to enjoy them.

Aside from the pricing change, the app fixes issues with button colors in iOS 7.1 and includes the following improvements:

  • Ollie Soars easter egg now a little more difficult to trigger
  • Increased timeline capacity to 500 tweets
  • Minor speed optimizations

The team acknowledged they’ve experimented with different revenue models in the past, including the freemium model they’re returning to today.

Our hope is that this helps get Twitterrific into more people’s hands than ever before so they can enjoy the simple beauty of reading and posting tweets once again.

Download Twitterrific 5.7 free in the App Store.

The app requires iOS 7.0 or later.