Repository
https://github.com/esteemapp/esteem
Introduction
This is a sequel to my previous post on this series "Is esteemapp the best steem android client? or there are others better than it."
The aim of the blog post was to find out if the esteemapp is better than the newly developed apps (Partiko and 1ramp). These apps also perform the same functions as the esteemapp.
In the previous post, I talked about and gave my review the distinct features of esteemapp.In this post, I'll be reviewing only partiko's distinct features and comparing it with that of esteemapp.
Post Body
Partiko has been prominent in recent times. I have heard a lot of people talk about the app and some have encouraged me to use it. I have also found time to read several articles about the app. The project has gathered enough hype to mount a competition with esteemapp. It was shocking to find out that the app was officially launched seven (7) months ago. The app has gained a lot of traction although it is not as old as esteemapp. The developer of partiko in a blog post gave reasons why users would prefer to use partiko over other steem clients. The reasons are quite solid but, is it enough to choose Partiko over esteemapp? We will find out in this post.
Without further ado, let's review Partiko app.
Features of Partiko.
Like I did with the esteemapp, I'll break down the features of Partiko into two (2) parts.
- User Interface
- Functionalities
1. User Interface(UI)
The User interface (UI) of partiko is one of it's most interesting features. User Interface as you may have known by now is something that thrills me. The material design which was developed by Google in 2014 is now widely used by a lot of developers. The design is awesome.
Partiko's user interface is designed with google's material design language. This means that the app's UI should be smooth, and clean. This is true, but I didn't find it fascinating. Aside from the icon shapes and transition, the app looks really dull and empty in my opinion. I like the concept of sticking with white and blue colors which are somewhat steem's colors but, it's not cool. Maybe I'm asking for too much but it'll be great to see colors on steem android clients. The blue and white color accents of steem can be maintained too.
The user interface of esteemapp, in my opinion, is more fascinating than partiko. Night mode on esteemapp makes it even better. Night mode is not yet implemented on partiko which is disappointing. Aside from making the app look interesting, night mode has its importance. The only positive thing about Partiko's UI for me is the adaptation of system font. Esteemapp doesn't use system font which is not cool. The font on esteemapp is not bad though but, I'll prefer if it used my system font.
If I had to make a choice based on UI, I'll prefer to use the esteemapp.
2. Functionalities.
The distinct functionalities of partiko are not much. There are only about 4 distinct features partiko offers. The rest is basically what every other steem android client has or even less.
Chats
This is the best feature about partiko for me. I have often wondered why this feature isn't available on steemit. Steemit is called a social community, which it is partly. But, most social media enable private chats with other members of the community. But this is lacking on steemit.
The availability of this function on Partiko makes the app really important. This feature is great but it needs several improvements. The probability of my followers or following using partiko is slim. This means to enable a private conversation, the receiver must use partiko. But how do I know if some of my followers or following use the app without having to search for them and text them first?. To make this feature more efficient, it should be sorted or split. It should display individuals on my follower's list that use partiko. That's if there are any. Furthermore, it should sort, them according to availability. That is if, they are online or offline. Giving information about the last time the participant was online would be a great thing too.
The chats feature is something I'll love to see on every steem android client. It's really cool Thumbs up to the developers of Partiko for thinking about this.
Resteem
The resteem feature has its importance that can not be overemphasized. Partiko is the only app amongst the three (3) I'm reviewing that allow users resteem articles. I don't resteem a lot of articles but, I ideally want to know that I can when I want to. The unavailability of the resteem button on esteemapp is weird. The app has been around for a reasonable amount of time. 1ramp is still being developed so I can understand why the feature is not available. For a feature as basic as resteem not to be available on esteemapp is not cool. Partiko once again shines with this feature.
Partiko points.
This feature is the sell out feature of partiko. The idea is to tip authors and also users who perform certain activities with the app. I like the fact that the project owners think of it's end-users enough to incentivize them. The points are only used to redeem upvotes from partiko. There should be more use cases for these points though. Esteem doesn't use the points system but they also tip users of the app. This means partiko points is not so much of a big deal if it's only for tipping end users. I hope to see more use cases for partiko points in the future.
These are the only distinct features of Partiko I could come up with. Partiko lacks severely in terms of functionalities. Partiko has only three (3) unique features while esteemapp has over 10 unique features. The difference in quality is clear. There is also a huge difference even in similar features.
Here's a table showing the distinct features of Partiko and Esteemapp
| Esteemapp | Partiko |
|---|---|
| no material design | material design |
| security | nil |
| bookmarks | nil |
| schedule | nil |
| favourites | nil |
| exchange | nil |
| currency | nil |
| drafts | nil |
| nil | resteem button |
| nil | partiko points |
| nil | chats |
From the above table, there's no denying that Esteemapp has a higher value than partiko. The features of esteemapp are a lot. But, I think the most important feature for me is security. For now, security is not an issue for Partiko because it uses steemconnect. Furthermore, users can't conduct transactions with the app.
Summary.
In this post, I've been able to review Partiko app and compare it with the esteemapp. The features of Partiko are cool. But I only fell in love with the chats feature. It is the most attracting feature for me. The functionality still needs work though. The developers of Partiko have got a lot of work to do on the app. Maybe, if Partiko was open source, these features would have been implemented with collaborative development.
Conclusively, after reviewing Partiko, I don't find it features enticing enough to choose it over esteemapp.
Thanks for reading!
In my next post on this series, I'll be reviewing 1ramp's distinct features. After reviewing its features, I'll compare it with Esteemapp and Partiko to see it'll be a better option. Furthermore, I'll discuss a little about their similarities and afterward, state the app I prefer to use.
It is good to point out that Partiko is not open source and I think that has a huge impact on the unavailability of many features on it.
Disclaimer: This contents of this post are my personal reviews based on my experience with the projects. This post is not in anyway sponsored to defame any of these projects. The reviews are my opinions and my opinions alone. You are liable for whatever course of action you take with regards to this post.
Resources
@partiko/announcing-partiko-a-beautiful-steem-android-client
The images used in this content are appropriately sourced.
Series Backlinks
Is esteemapp the best steem android client? or there are others better than it?