Slices for Twitter tries hard to differentiate itself from the masses of iOS apps designed around the social networking service, and while it doesn't quite race clear of the pack of third-party options, it offers some great ideas and solid execution. Combining a clean and responsive interface with everything you'd expect from a stellar client (sans push notifications), Slices emphasizes the discovery aspect of Twitter with its extra functionality.

The two big features here are Explore and slices. You can browse by category in the Explore menu, looking through influential users and relevant tweets in 21 areas, including Live Events. It helps you find people, but it's hard to get past the movers and shakers to more niche experts. The list-like slices, meanwhile, are made from "slicing" your timeline into mini-feeds that you define. Along with several other filtering options, these bring order to the chaos of big Twitter feeds.

Slices supports up to five accounts, and you can also use it to update your Facebook status; plus, it has integrated support for a plethora of other services, like Twitlonger and Instapaper. You can also bookmark users for quick reference, and even look at your tweeting habits in statistical form. And one of the niftiest additions is a shortcut bar that gives you quick access to your main timeline, mentions, or direct messages – from any feed. A $4.99 in-app Pro upgrade removes ads, but otherwise doesn't seem to add anything, making it a steep enhancement.

The bottom line. Slices blows the official Twitter app out of the water with a slick interface and great discovery tools, though despite the unique approach, it's simply another stellar third-party option alongside many others.