first take iTunes 7 includes some great updates, like gapless playback, games downloads and a better interface, but Australian users so far miss out on the movie downloads available to American users.
Three new iPods were announced this morning in San Francisco (have a look at our get the first takes of the updated 5G iPod, Nano and Shuffle), and at first glance, they look great from design, features, and price perspectives. But it's the latest version of iTunes that steals the show, or should I say, the movie; at least in the USA. The American version of iTunes 7 introduces, among a laundry list of new features, movies from Disney, Miramax Films, Touchstone Pictures, and a handful of other Disney-related studios, but unfortunately, Australian iTunes users are not yet able to download films.
Now back to the iTunes application itself. The iTunes 7 interface been upgraded not only to represent movies in the new "iTunes Store," but new interface, management, and graphical features have been implemented as well to increase both utility and wow-factor. Among the upgrades:
- A reorganised Source section
This is the main navigation area on the left-hand column where, in iTunes 6, content genres and playlists spilled down in a semiorganised fashion. Now it's organised into sections, such as Library (Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, Audiobooks, Radio), Store (iTunes Store, Purchased), Devices (these will be your various iPods or other portable devices), Shared, and Playlists. Better organisation, yes, but you'll still have to scroll down, as the headers add several lines to the list. - Automatic album art retrieval
Though we've already seen utilities that can do this, iTunes will now add album art from its catalog to tracks you've added to your collection without album art. In other words, your artless-MP3s will most likely have album art once they've gone through the iTunes ringer, and that will make your music collection feel complete. We'll let you know how well this feature works in our full review. - New content-view options
This one is rad. In addition to the plain-vanilla listing of your tracks and movies, you get two additional views. First option: A simple list grouped with large album art; we've seen this before in Windows Media Player, so it's not original, but it's definitely an improvement. The second option, dubbed Cover Flow, displays a big window for a "virutal shelf" of album art or movie covers. You can scroll through and watch the graphics whiz by, or select one with a mouse. Down below, the content associated to the graphic appears. Very useful, very cool, and very Apple. - Device management
Now you can manage your iPod settings within the iTunes interface rather than opening up a new preference window to do the same. Also, you're now allowed to move songs off the iPod as long as the recipient computer is authorised to listen to or view the content. This stuff just rings of user-friendliness. - Download manager
This is a Source option that appears when you purchase content. Basically, it lists your selections along with a progress meter, and it's very useful if you want to reorder the queue to get the song or movie you want quicker. - Gapless playback
Yipeee! Many music fanatics (especially those who like dance music) now can enjoy their music without annoying gaps. I think this is a valuable feature that should be implemented more throughout the MP3 world. The new iPods boast the same feature. - General interface tweaks plus games
If you look in the iTunes Store, you'll notice that graphics, text, and organization of content is more refined. Also, you'll notice that the iTunes Store now sells games for AU$7.49 -- these are definitely better than the old stock games, and they work only on the iPod (not the Nano).
We'll have a full review of iTunes 7 soon. In the meantime, check out iTunes 7 for yourself by downloading the application for free.
Apple iTunes 7
Company: Apple
RRP: Free
7%
2%
After upgrading to iTunes 7 all I can report is that my previously fault-free music playing is now w-w-w-warbling and g-g-g-garbled. It doesn't seem to matter what else, if anything, is running, iTunes just sounds like a dusty cd player being taken for a jog