The Mac market has no shortage of iTunes controllers. In fact, if the mythical MacStore makes an appearance, I’m sure there will be a special category dedicated to iTunes extenders. Of course, there are a few of these that stand out from among the rest. We’ve reviewed some of them in the past, but this one escaped a good look.
Recently updated to version 2.5, CoverStream boasts of much improved performance and a few other things so I thought I’d give it a look. Not bad for an iTunes controller, I will give it that. But first, the app refused to launch on my iMac. I had to get a special ‘non-protected’ version from the dev (they’re aware of this issue).
When the app does work, it is quite impressive. The floating CoverFlow interface is well done to the point that it can be used to actually navigate iTunes. The UI borrows heavily from the darker shades in iTunes 8 (unofficially dubbed ‘marble’). The progress slider looks especially gorgeous. Double-clicking the artwork reveals the tracklist for the album, much like the iPhone does.
Typing in U2 narrowed down the results, and double click to show tracklist
Fullscreen mode on the other hand can be controlled using just the remote. You press and hold the prev/next buttons to scroll through the list, and press the menu button to play any track. Press and hold the play button to bring up the track list. Overall excellent implementation of the full screen view with the remote. Oh, and why would you use this instead of Front Row? Mainly because you cannot quit it without having your music stop (am I the only one totally annoyed by this stupidity in Front Row 2.0?).
Apart from the CoverFlow aspect of the app, it features the standard features like control with keyboard shortcuts, the drop down menu from the menubar, Last.fm integration, and notifications every time you switch a track. It even features a music search, one that I’ve come to find indispensable for my iTunes experience with CoverSutra. I’m still confused as to which music search I prefer, as both approaches are very different from each other. Time will tell which one I use more often.
Cover Stream costs €14.95 for a single license (exactly the same as CoverSutra), a trial version for which is available. Check it out and do let me know which one you’ve set your sights on.
