Summary of Functionality
1. Importing functionality makes it easy to switch to TypePad Micro. Exporting functionality makes it easy to switch from it. Good.
2. Only one themes/template is available for Micro users. Although the color schemes let you create an attractive blog, individualization is very basic and limited to auto-generated color schemes based on the image you upload to use as your banner. There is no way for you to edit the stylesheet or HTML files to further individualize the Chroma theme. Only those who upgrade to TypePad Unlimited or Premium accounts can customize their themes. Posterous and Tumblr allow this. Bad.
3. Auto posting to social networking sites Twitter, FriendFeed, and Facebook is available. Good.
4. No ads run on your blog, not even unobtrusive text ads. Good.
5. You can't have a blogroll in your sidebar unless you upgrade to one of the paid accounts. Posterous and Tumblr allow this. Bad.
6.Commenters can sign in with TypePad, Facebook, Twitter, or OpenID. They can also just fill out the comment form. Lots of choices. Good.
7. The Dashboard has a Quick Compose, but no link to go to the full editor. You have to look in the Manage My Blog section on the right and click on Posts, and then on the following page you have to click on the orange Compose button at the top, or the New Post link next to the search box. Too many steps. Bad.
8. There are many ways to post, including a bookmarklet for your browser. Good.
9. People can follow (aka subscribe) your blog, and their profile pics are displayed as avatars like on Twitter. Neither Posterous nor Tumblr do that, but it would be really nice if they did. Good.
10. TypePad Micro does not allow custom domain mapping. If you want to use a custom domain you have to upgrade to one of the TypePad Pro accounts. Posterous and Tumblr allow domain mapping for free. Bad.
11. Basic blog stats are available, including a list of referrers. You're also shown how many people visited via Twitter, TypePad, Facebook, and the Bit.ly URL link shortening service. You can use Google Analytics for more detailed stats. Keywords and Technorati tags can also be used, and there are SEO settings. Good.
12. No intuitive way to unlink links. There is an icon in the composition editor to create hyperlinks, but there isn't an icon to unlink them. You have to either manually edit the HTML code to remove them, or undo them just like you did them: highlight them, click on the link icon, delete the URL, uncheck the box to "open in a new window", and then click the link button which - if you followed all the steps - will actually unlink the links. Side eye. Much too complicated. Bad.
Conclusion
As far as so-called "microblogging" services go, Posterous and Tumblr are much better than TypePad Micro, hands down. They not do everything Micro does, but they do it better and make it easier to do. They even offer some functionality, for free, that Micro makes you pay a minimum of $9 a month (and in some cases up to $30 a month) to get.
Of those two, I personally think Posterous is better because of how it automagically handles media uploads and allows comments. Tumblr doesn't have a standard commenting system, although it does have more themes available, including paid ones, than Posterous. However, you can use ANY Tumblr theme with Posterous.
My last word is really that the only people I can see using this free service are those who are diehard fans of the MovableType blog/CMS software. TypePad Micro just doesn't hold a candle to its microblogging competitors.
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