At Apple’s Let’s Rock event on Tuesday, Steve Jobs announced the immediate availability of iTunes 8. You can download it by clicking here:
The most newsworthy feature of iTunes 8 isn’t even music related; it’s the return of NBC’s very popular TV programing to the iTunes store. NBC pulled its programing in 2007 after failing to come to terms with Apple’s pricing scheme. Returning shows include The Office, Monk, Battlestar Galactica, 30 Rock, and Heroes.
It will be interesting if these shows return to their most-downloaded status in the iTunes store. Some consumers may have permanently switched to Hulu, NBC’s free online TV service. An important difference between Hulu and iTunes is the availability of HD in iTunes. HD shows cost $2.99 per episode, versus $1.99 for SD (standard definition) shows. If you buy a season pass for a TV program, there may be a discount.
The iTunes 8 interface is identical to that of iTunes 7 at first glance, but after a moment it becomes clear that new features and accessibly options have been added and improved. There’s a new grid view that allows you to see your iTunes library in a new way. Select Albums in Grid View and iTunes 8 displays your entire music library using cover art. Select Artists, Genres, or Composers and iTunes automatically creates groups of albums based on your selection. Simply skim across a group to see the albums inside, and start playing an album with a single click. This also works for movies, TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks.
The new “Genius” feature lets you make playlists from songs in your music library “that go great together, with just one click,” according to Jobs. A new Genius sidebar also makes recommendations for accompanying songs that are available through the the iTunes Store.
In my limited experience with iTunes 8, the Genius Playlist feature works fairly well. I like that it finds music in my library that I’ve ignored or forgotten about. The Genius Sidebar is less useful right now; in time I might toggle it off.
Users can opt into anonymously sharing their Genius information with the iTunes store, which should constantly improve the Genius feature. New browsing options have been added. Similar to iPhoto, in iTunes 8 can skim or scrub through albums by artist, and use a similar view to skim movies, TV shows and other content. (Personally, I am very eager to use this feature – I think it makes sense with a very large music library.) A tab at the top of the screen allows you to toggle Albums, Artists, Genres and Composers.
Finally, iTunes 8 can be now be operated with Apple’s accessibility software VoiceOver.