iTunes is the place where my organization attempts always seem to fall short, whether i’m looking to find the cover of Yellow Submarine, or finding the man who wrote Vienna. I never seem to have the stamina to complete more then a few songs. Equinux has solved our frustration by developing SongGenie and CoverScout, two applications that supercharge the iTunes organizing experience by turning a weekend project into a 10 minute task.
The UI
The interface of these two applications are nearly identical, which is a dark, sleek-looking window. CoverScout uses Apple’s CoverFlow to browse album artwork, while SongGenie uses a TimeMachine’s interface to browse through songs (one of the few differences). Both of these applications are extremely easy to use which is one of the reasons why I enjoy it so much. To get song information for a particular track in SongGenie, you simply right click (control-click) the song and choose “Identify.” To get artwork for an album, you click “Search.” Nothing to it.
Speed
The speed and reliability of CoverScout and SongGenie is astounding. One of the most shocking finds with these two applications is the accuracy of CoverScout’s search feature. It always finds the perfect album cover. As for SongGenie, it has yet to find the wrong information for a song. Equinux has done a fantastic job with making both of these applications so exceptional.
Editor
In CoverScout, you are given a very neat tool that allows you to edit artwork you have downloaded for a specific album. This is a particularly helpful feature given that many album covers online have a some type of border. With this editor, you are given the option to crop, add a frame, change the color levels, zoom, and take a photo via iSight to insert your own artwork.
Decisions, Decisions
The price point of these applications is what detracts us. SongGenie is $29.95 ($44.95 Family) and CoverScout 3 is $39.95 ($59.95 Family). Since it is nearly impossible to use only one of these applications, the total cost for most would be $70. That price makes me wonder, “is it worth it?” Sadly, my answer is unclear as it depends on how large your library is. We’ll be blunt: the idea of selling these apps as separate is non-sensical, and to add insult to injury, the price of the applications combined becomes completely unreasonable. (i’ll add some bonus material) For $80 you can probably hire some high school student to go on Google and fill out the information manually. Sure, it may not be quicker, but at least you can help Tommy buy his first car. At the price currently charged by Equinux, you have to either be as OCD as Charlie or have created a library that is simply not usable via laziness. Whatever the case, after you see the price tag, you’ll probably learn to add the names the next time you add something to iTunes.
SongGenie and CoverScout are two separate applications that are really peanut-butter and jelly, by removing one, the other is incomplete; hence why this review is of both SongGenie and CoverScout. For most people, that price is way too much to spend for an easier way to get album artwork (compared to some other services and applications). For others, it is worth it. Our conclusion is that if you have neglected your iTunes library, didn’t use Gracenote, have switched computers, perhaps pirated a couple of songs or for whatever other reason – turned your iTunes library into something you’d let a five year-old organize, you might want this app. Otherwise, it will not be such a useful application.
Both applications are available from Equinux’s website located here.
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