Songbird 1.1 Trounces iTunes

Finally, iTunes has some serious competition. Songbird, with its newest update, brings an array of new features and major improvements that might make Apple tremble on its throne as music distribution king.

Songbird is a free, open-source media player, which means anyone can contribute to its development. And now, with the updated 1.1 version, it supports automatic album art downloads, has an integrated store feature and watches folders for hierarchical changes. Add that to Last.fm support, event listings with integrated ticket purchasing and speedy performance comparable to iTunes, and you get the “Firefox of media players”.

Actually, Songbird is based on the same technology that Firefox uses, and even though the player isn’t ready for iPods and Podcasts, it does pretty much everything else.

For those who are reluctant to submit to Apple’s iTunes hegemony, Songbird provides a reliable alternative. With continued support from the community, the media player is updated according to feedback from users, and allows you to try out new experimental features as they are developed.

Apple is poised to release version 8.1 of iTunes, so it remains to be seen whether Songbird can keep up the pace. However, try browsing the complete feature list, and feel free to commence salivation. Is it enough to replace your usual media player?

Source: Wired