iChoose iTunes (iTunes)

Member Name: JJJJ

Product:	iTunes
Date:	06/10/08 (121 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Decent set of options and features

Disadvantages: N/A

Introduced at the start of 2001, 'iTunes' is a program originally designed to catalogue and play mp3 files.

Available as a free download, it's can be used by both Mac and PC users and comes free with all new Apple computers.

These days, version '8.01' (current at time of writing) is a very versatile product. Not only is it a music player, but also a hub for downloading movies both to buy and rent.

On loading up iTunes for the first time, you are presented with your 'Music Library'. This displays all of the songs imported to the program from your hard-drive. You can create specific playlists by dragging songs from the library into one of the playlist headlings displayed in the window on the left.

When importing or 'ripping' tracks from a CD, iTunes provides a range of options which will allow you to define the quality. I generally import my files as high quality AAC's rather than mp3's. I do this because I prefer the sound quality the AAC file produces compared to a similar sized mp3 (both file types work with iPod's).

In the same location there is also a link to the 'iTunes Store'. This is the online shop which allows you to purchase music - whether it be whole albums or singles. Albums generally cost around £7.99, whilst singles are 79p.

As I mentioned earlier, you can also rent and buy movies. At the moment, the selection isn't that great - but if this option takes your fancy, rentals cost £3.49. For this price you get 48hrs to view the film, which will delete itself at the end of this alloted period. The picture quality is pretty good, although it can occasionally look a little compressed.

To buy a film can cost anything between £6-£11, although it's not something I would want to do, as you can only view the movie on the computer, and can't burn it to a CD as the file is write protected.

A new feature in iTunes 8 is 'Genius' - which groups together sets of similar songs from your music library into a playlist. It can also recommend music from the iTunes Store that you don't already have in your collection. When you 'switch-on' Genius, the application will send personal data to Apple about your music collection, and as such has been criticised by many users.

The other big downside about Genuis is the fact that it only seems to work with songs I have purchased from the iTunes store. This is a shame, as the majority of my albums have been imported from my CD collection and as such, the function is pretty much useless to me.

A cool but gimmicky feature of iTunes (which has been available since the first version) is the 'Visualiser'. This is a mesmeric series of swirls and effects which move around in time with the music currently being played. It's something which has been copied hundreds of times (but never bettered) by other programs of a similar nature.

iTunes can read MP3, AIFF, WAV, MPEG-4, and (as mentioned earlier) AAC files. This makes it fairly versatile as a specialist music player.

Overall iTunes is the original and best digital media player. I've personally been using it since the first version was released, and would never use a rival product. I does all I need it to do, and houses my beloved music collection - an excellent product.

Summary: Original and Best for Digital Music

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