“Its rivals are getting stronger, but Apple’s music management continues to be the leader. Indeed, it’s the real hero in iPod’s success,” Steve Rosenbush writes in his review (4.5 stars out of 5) for BusinessWeek. “In part, iTunes is basking in the glow of its famous sibling, the iPod. Apple’s best-selling portable digital music player was designed to work with iTunes. And even though you can manage your iPod with other programs like the RealPlayer, for many people iTunes and iPod are one and the same.”

Rosenbush writes, “iTunes stands up well on its own, though. The software shares all the iPod’s attributes. It has the same spare aesthetic, with a minimum number of buttons and windows set against a brushed-grey background. And like the iPod, each detail is extremely well thought-out.”

“iTunes converses freely with the rest of the computing world. It allows people to record their CDs using the ubiquitous MP3 standard. It also will convert unprotected Windows Media files into the AAC format that Apple favors. That means iTunes is compatible with a number of standard MP3 players, including a variety of models from Rio and Creative. And it allows people to transfer MP3-based music libraries on their computer into iTunes. iTunes scores more points in this contest than Windows Media, which doesn’t record in AAC,” Rosenbush writes. “With the world’s attention focused on the iPod, it’s easy to forget about iTunes. Apple’s music player has been on the cover of Newsweek and The New Yorker. But the iPod would just be a cool-looking gadget if it weren’t for its lesser-known sibling.”

Full article here.

Related MacDailyNews articles:
Report: Apple iTunes Music Store more popular than most peer-to-peer file sharing services – June 07, 2005
Apple’s iTunes Music Store passes 430 million downloads, market share increases to 82-percent in May – June 07, 2005
How Apple’s iTunes, iPod and the iTunes Music Store were born – May 24, 2005
Apple CEO Steve Jobs demos iTunes 4.9, due within 60 days, includes podcast support – May 23, 2005
Enjoying Apple’s iTunes and iTunes Music Store without owning an iPod – May 11, 2005