For a while now Twitterific has ruled the roost when it comes to desktop apps for OS X. This is primarily due to the fact that there actually aren’t that many decent Mac clients around, despite the plethora of options for the iPhone.

(Note: Yes, there are a whole host of Air apps, iChat plugins, multi-purpose social updaters and Dashboard widgets, but I’m only talking about Cocoa-based, OS X-ish Mac apps.)

That’s about to change: Bluebird, Beak and Lounge are three new OS X native apps announced for release this Spring.

First impressions

Lounge for the Mac is still very much a work in progress, but is already quite stable and reliable. The UI makes it easy to access all the Twitter features you’ve come to expect and the ability to save searches as Groups is also very useful. Unlike some apps the UI doesn’t try to overwhelm you with multiple message lists. Support for multiple accounts, retweeting, a Services menu and the ability to ‘drill down’ into people’s @replies, user profiles and links rounds out the experience.

One feature that I’m particularly fond of is the ability to sync your read-status with the iPhone companion app that is already available on the App Store.

Pricing for the Mac version of Lounge hasn’t yet been announced, but you can test drive the beta version until its expiration date, July 1st.

Gripes

Lounge still lacks some features such as Picture support, built-in url shortening etc. that some users will probably miss, but it’s early days yet…

Conclusion

Definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for a slightly different take in the desktop Twitter app genre.