Comparison of iPod file managers
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This article focuses on iPod managing software. i.e. software that permits the transferring of content between an iPod and a computer or vice versa.
iTunes is the official iPod managing software, but 3rd parties have created alternatives to work around restrictions in iTunes. e.g. transferring content from an iPod to a computer is restricted by iTunes.
General
Manager | Creator(s) | First public release date | Latest stable version | Downloadable without paying? | Software license | Windows | Mac OS X | Linux |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amarok | Mark Kretschmann | 2003-06-23 | 3.1 (August 2, 2024[±] | )Yes | GPL | Yes | Experimental (leopard) | Yes |
Banshee | Aaron Bockover | 2005-08 | 2.6.2 (February 18, 2014[1]) [±] | Yes | MIT | Experimental | Experimental | Yes |
Clementine | David Sansome, John Maguire | February 2010 | 1.3.1 (April 19, 2016[±] | )Yes | GPL v3 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
gtkpod | Jorg Schuler | ? | 2.1.5 (Jun 2, 2015) | Yes | GPL | No | No | Yes |
iRip | The Little App Factory | 2003-09 | 2.1 (Mac) (May 6, 2011[2]) [±] | No | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | No |
iTunes | Apple Inc. | 2001-01-08 | Yes | Proprietary | Yes | Yes | No | |
JRiver Media Center | J. River | 2003-07 | 28.0.63 (September 10, 2021[±] | )Yes (trial) | Proprietary | Yes | No | No |
MediaMonkey | Ventis Media Inc. | 2003-08-25 | 5.0.4.2690 (November 23, 2022[±] | )Yes (Standard) | Proprietary | Yes | No | No |
Rhythmbox | Colin Walters | 2004-04 | 3.4.4 (January 4, 2020[±] | )Yes | GPL | No | No | Yes |
Senuti | FadingRed | 2006-04-26 | 1.1.7 (Oct 6, 2009)[4] | Yes (limited trial) | Proprietary | No | Yes | No |
MediaChest | D Rogatkin | 1999-10-10 | 2.1.204 (Jun 12, 2013) | Yes | BSD | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Winamp native | Nullsoft | 1997-06 | 5.9.2 Build 10042[5] (April 26, 2023 ) [±]
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Yes (Bundle & Full) | Proprietary | Yes | No | No |
XPlay | Mediafour | 2002-06-24 | 3.5.0 (Dec 30, 2009)[6] | No | Proprietary | Yes | No | No |
Manager | Creator(s) | First public release date | Latest stable version | Downloadable without paying? | Software license | Windows | Mac OS X | Linux |
Media organization and transfer features
Manager | Copy Music | Copy Videos | Copy Smart Playlists | Copy Album Artwork | Extract DRM-Free Music | Extract DRM-Free Videos | Extract Playcounts | Extract Playlists | Copy Content to iPod |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amarok | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No |
Banshee | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ? | No |
Clementine | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
EphPod | Yes | ? | Yes | No | Yes | No | ? | ? | ? |
gtkpod | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
iRip | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
iTunes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
JRiver Media Center | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
MediaMonkey | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rhythmbox | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Senuti | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
Winamp native | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes |
XPlay | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Manager | Copy Music | Copy Videos | Copy Smart Playlists | Copy Album Artwork | Extract DRM-Free Music | Extract DRM-Free Videos | Extract Playcounts | Extract Playlists | Copy Content to iPod |
iPod syncing and maintenance features
Manager | Download Podcasts | Rebuild iPod Database | Portable | 6th Gen. Firmware | 5th Gen. nano Firmware | shuffle3G Firmware | iPod touch / iPhone support | Photo support | Supports Gapless Metadata |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amarok | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | No | Yes4 | ? | ? |
Banshee | Yes | Yes | ? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
Clementine | Yes | No | ? | No | No | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
EphPod | No | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | No | No | No |
gtkpod | No | ? | ? | Yes2 | Yes4 | Yes4 | Yes, jailbroken only | ? | Yes |
iRip | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
iTunes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
JRiver Media Center | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
MediaMonkey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Rhythmbox | Yes | ? | ? | ? | Yes | No | Yes4 | No | No |
Senuti | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? |
Winamp native | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes |
XPlay | No | Yes | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? |
Manager | Download Podcasts | Rebuild iPod Database | Portable | 6th Gen. Firmware | 5th Gen. nano Firmware | shuffle3G Firmware | iPod touch / iPhone support | Photo support | Supports Gapless Metadata |
Note 2: gtkpod developers have found a workaround [1].
Note 3: As of Version 3.02 [2].
Note 4: Support arrived with libgpod >= 0.7.90 due to the use of libimobiledevice.
iPhone & iPod Touch compatibility
Manager | iPod touch / iPhone Firmware up to 1.1.4 | iPod touch / iPhone FW 2.x | iPod touch / iPhone FW 3.0 | iPod touch / iPhone FW 3.1 | iPod touch / iPhone FW 4.0.2 | iPod touch / iPhone FW 5.0.x |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amarok | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes, Read-only | Yes, Read-only |
Banshee | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, Read-only | Yes, Read-only |
Clementine | Yes, limited | Yes, limited | Yes, limited | Yes, limited | No | No |
EphPod | No | No | No | No | No | No |
gtkpod | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
iRip | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, Read-only |
iTunes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
JRiver Media Center | No | No | No | No | No | No |
MediaMonkey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rhythmbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Senuti | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
Winamp native | No | No | No | No | No | No |
XPlay | Yes | Yes, Read only | Yes, Read only | Yes, Read only | Yes, Read only | Yes, Read only |
Manager | iPod touch / iPhone Firmware up to 1.1.4 | iPod touch / iPhone FW 2.x | iPod touch / iPhone FW 3.0 | iPod touch / iPhone FW 3.1 | iPod touch / iPhone FW 4.0.2 | iPod touch / iPhone FW 5.0.x |
See also
References
- ^ "October 10, 2012". banshee.fm. October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ^ "iRip for Mac". www.macupdate.com. 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ Ben Trengrove; The Little App Factory Pty. Ltd. (2010-04-08). "iRip Windows v1.0.1.25". iRip. forums.thelittleappfactory.com. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ "Senuti Compatibility for Updates to Mac OS X, iPhone, and iPod". FadingRed. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ^ "Winamp : Supported versions : Latest supported version". Winamp Forums. December 22, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ^ "XPlay 3.5.0 update is now available". MediaFour. Retrieved 2010-03-27.