Many people have an iPod, iPhone or perhaps iPad, but don't like using iTunes at all. Contrary to popular belief, as a proud owner of such a device, you are not obliged to use this program at all. There are plenty of freeware alternatives that allow you to easily organize the content of your Apple device.
01. iTunes
Some find iTunes great to use, while others see it as an outright disaster. Common complaints are that the software places a heavy burden on the system and that the interface is not user-friendly. In addition, you should keep a lot of space on your hard disk for the software. Moreover, not everyone is waiting for the integration with the iTunes Store. Tired of iTunes or is the software running very slow with your system? Or do you simply want to quickly transfer music to multiple computers, without having to install heavy software everywhere? Then read on and try out these good alternatives.
New generations
There are many programs that you can use instead of iTunes. Because Apple uses different security technologies for each new generation of iPods and iPhones, regular software updates are required. However, many freeware lacks that. For this article, for example, we tested Floola, YamiPod and Winamp Ipod Plugin without success. At the time of writing, these programs did not work with Apple's latest media players. The software discussed in this article all support the latest generations. In addition, the developers of these alternatives have proven in the past to provide updates very quickly, as soon as fresh products appear on the market.
02. SharePod
Using the SharePod program, you have full control over your iPod or iPhone, without the need to install any software. So it couldn't be easier! You download the program from the Getsharepod website. Then extract the zip file of only 2 MB to any folder. When you launch the exe file, the tool will try to connect to your Apple player. Some types require Windows to recognize the device as a separate disk. Fortunately, the software indicates this itself, so that you can activate this function with the help of the manual. Put the program on the hard drive of the iPod or iPhone, so you can easily manage the content on multiple computers. So you are no longer dependent on iTunes.
Put the program on your portable player so you can use it anywhere.
03. Add music
Using SharePod is extremely easy. You connect the device to your computer, after which you open the program. All audio tracks and movies from the player are now loaded. At the bottom of the screen you can see exactly how much space is still available for new material. Use the button Copy to iPod to add music, then select a folder or some individual files on your hard drive and confirm with OK. You can also copy the files from the player to your computer. It is useful to determine the folder structure yourself. For example, you can sort the multimedia collection by genre, artist or music album. Optionally, indicate that you also want to add the music to your iTunes library. Do you want to make a full backup on your hard drive including all playlists? Then use the button Backup iPod.
Adding music is a simple task thanks to SharePod.
Save a backup on your computer and determine the folder structure yourself.
04. Playlists
SharePod makes it easy to create new playlists. To do this, navigate to playlists / New Playlist. After you come up with a name, it will appear in the pane on the left. You simply add audio tracks or videos by dragging and dropping them. If you have a large digital music collection, it is useful to use the search function. By the way, it is also possible to edit or delete existing playlists. You can also edit the tags of all files. Select one or more songs and right click on them. Choose Properties and change the data if necessary. Through the tab Album Artwork add an album cover. The software also features an internal media player to play audio. This allows you to easily play music from your portable media player on any computer. Finally, there is a function to safely disconnect your iPod or iPhone from the system.
Turn your favorite tracks into a playlist.
05. MediaMonkey
Prefer to use an audio player with more features than SharePod? Then install MediaMonkey. You surf to the Mediamonkey website to download the free version. During installation, you indicate which file types you want the program to play automatically. Once launched, it first rapidly maps your audio collection by scanning your hard drive. You specify which disks or folders should be searched. It doesn't matter if the data is scattered on your hard drive, because MediaMonkey groups all files together. When adding music, you will be given the option to import rating and playback history information from other media players. This works very easily. On the left side of the user interface you will see the library, where the music is divided into different categories. You can sort the material by location, artist, composer, album, genre, year and score.
Use the pane on the left to sort your music collection.
