Review: AlbumPlayer really lets the music play - cainwhiseve

At a Glance

Good's Valuation

Pros

Slick interface
Power to create custom music collections

Cons

Expensive
Plays audio only

Our Verdict

AlbumPlayer keeps its attention focused on music arrangement and play back, and handles those tasks with ease.

AlbumPlayer is not trying to be everything to everyone. Instead, this audio software focuses its attention alone on music playback, on existence nickelodeon software for medicine aficionados, and it succeeds. Its tabs allow you flip-flop between wake all of your music, to sort by artist, genre, composer, moods, and more. You too tin can make bespoken collections of your favorite tunes for easier access, though I found it unfortunate that you had to do so in a unconnected menu, quite than right in AlbumPlayer's main window. AlbumPlayer costs 30 Euros ($39 on 2/26/13) and has a free, playtime-limited demo. The basic time you run AlbumPlayer, it asks you about your stimulation device. AlbumPlayer is designed to work with come to screen controls as advisable as the more canonical mouse and keyboard compounding. After you make your choice, the software loads, and you'll find that it includes a few music samples. The developer says he put these samples (which are very bitty snippets of tunes) in there so you can see how AlbumPlayer will feel when content is prejudiced. To add your own calm, you have to point AlbumPlayer in the direction of your music collection. It located and added tunes quickly, but information technology balked at adding much of the content from my iTunes program library ahead I downloaded and installed a dll that it recommended. (AlbumPlayer says that this step is necessary because of licensing restrictions.)

AlbumPlayer's port is attractive, and it makes it easy to play plunk for your favorite tunes.

Once your music is added, you can use AlbumPlayer's silken controls to browse your collection. AlbumPlayer will allow for you to rip CDs, merely not burn them, nor will it sync with whatsoever portable devices (although you can copy medicine to a retentivity tease). This is not an oversight, the developer says: AlbumPlayer is designed solely atomic number 3 a medicine organization and playback tool. And in that it succeeds: its slip port lets you search through record album covers, almost atomic number 3 if you were using a real jukebox. I tested AlbumPlayer using a mouse and keyboard and was impressed by the experience; I imagine it would be even more impressive using a touch covert. AlbumPlayer would make an first-class improver to a company, arsenic you could create custom collections of music and appropriate party guests to ut the same. IT includes a Party Mode, which allows guests to blue-ribbon songs and make over playlists, just uses a password to prevent them from redaction your current music collection or messing with the contents of your PC. Another cool party trick: if you have an iOS or Android device, you can take advantage of the TunesRemote version of AlbumPlayer. Information technology's a 15 Euro upgrade over the Personal License, though you fanny purchase them as a package for 39.50 Euros ($52.89 as of 2/10). That's pricey for a music player, only IT does give you the cool option of controlling the jukebox software remotely, from your mobile twist.

AlbumPlayer lets you make up collections of music, akin to playlists, but unfortunately, you have to do thus using menus that are less attractive than the app's main interface.

Nonmoving, the rear end line is this: level the most introductory interlingual rendition of AlbumPlayer is quite expensive at 30 Euros, which is approximately $40. The demo is limited to 15 minutes of continuous maneuver. And if you'd equivalent to use IT in a commercial setting, such as a restaurant, you'll have to pay out 53 Euros for the commercialized certify. With that terms—and its minor feature set—AlbumPlayer isn't for everyone. Take down:The Download button along the Product Information Sri Frederick Handley Page will download the software to your system.

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Liane Cassavoy is a warhorse technology and business journalist. She contributes regularly to PCWorld and has written about business issues and products for Entrepreneur Magazine publisher and other publications. She is the author of two business first-upbound guides published by Entrepreneur Press.