iPod.iTunes sports new interface, features

The shareware developers at crispSofties have released version 2.0 of iPod.iTunes (formerly dubbed iPod2iTunes), which has been in beta testing for some time. The tool provides synchronization of tracks and playlists from any iPod to any Mac.

iPod.iTunes is designed to let you keep music and playlists on different Macs up to date. You can also use it to do a full restore of tracks and playlists, revert an accident deletion of tracks and playlists, “clone” an iPod, and transfer your music library from one Mac to another.

iPod.iTunes lets you synchronize tracks, playlists, or both — either automatically or manually. The latter mode creates a list of iPod tracks not in iTunes, and lets you copy desired tracks from that list. With every Mac-iPod synchronization, iPod.iTunes creates a date and time stamped iTunes playlist containing the tracks that were copied. This gives you the option to add the tracks to existing playlists or to create new ones from the transferred tracks.

iPod.iTunes 2.0 sports an overhauled interface with tabs for Settings, Synchronization, and Tools. Twin progress bars show tasks that have been completed and how many tracks or playlist entries have been synchronized. A Log & Guide area shows what’s currently happening.

Though the update also adds one-click synchronization of tracks and/or playlists entries, a mode for copying synchronized tracks manually (as in iPod2iTunes 1.x) is still available. In version 2.0, playlist synchronization no longer requires you to run track synchronization before it (in case the corresponding tracks are already in iTunes). There’s a new option to give transferred iPod playlists a prefix to have them separated from other iTunes playlists with the same name; synchronization of smart playlists is now an option now. iPod.iTunes 2.0 is also up to 40 percent faster synchronization, according to crispSofties.

The application requires Mac OS X (10.1.2 and higher), iTunes 2.0.4 – 3.0.1, and iPod firmware 1.0-1.2.2. iPod.iTunes is shareware, though you’re allowed to choose what you pay.