iTunes 10 first impressions

If you haven’t already downloaded iTunes 10 yet, be sure to check for updates on your system. It definitely brings quite a change to the interface of iTunes (even the icon has changed for the first time in seemingly forever) and I’m sure you’ll need it eventually to get later versions of iOS. That said, whether these updates are for the better remains to be determined. The new interface, for instance, changes the way the sidebar, main lists, and “traffic light” buttons in the upper left look. To see a detailed perspective of the changes, check out this set of Flickr photos about it. While the functionality of the application has remained basically the same (except for the addition of Ping), this is still a rather large change.

I’m not really a fan of the interface changes yet. I’m sure they will grow on me over time as most changes do, but I still think they’re a strange step for Apple. For instance, the interface seems too plain now. The only color other than shades of blue/white/gray are the three buttons in the upper left. Even the icons for the items in the sidebar have lost their color. It’s somewhat “blah,” for lack of a better word. However, perhaps Apple’s goal was actually to simplify the user interface in a way by doing this.

Another large change in the iTunes interface is the icon. Instead of the music note over the CD, it is now a music note inside of a blue circle. Apple’s reasoning for this was because digital downloads are now outselling CD sales. Opinions on Twitter were certainly love or hate (I’m leaning more towards “hate” if I had to pick a side). Regardless, it’s probably here to stay, and you can always change it if you really don’t like it.

Lastly, there’s Ping, a social network that lets users follow friends and find music through iTunes based on each other’s likes and interests. I don’t really like the idea of having yet another social network to keep tabs on. However, I also feel like it could be an awesome way to discover great new music based on what you already like (sort of like what Genius, Pandora, etc. are already trying to do). It definitely has a long way to go; at launch, there were only about 15 artists you could follow. Once it matures a little, I think it could be really great. After all, it’s part of iTunes, and therefore already has millions of users behind it once they activate it.

All in all, the change in iTunes is certainly one of the largest as of late. The interface has been changed a lot overall, and Ping brings a lot more functionality to the social aspect of iTunes. It’ll be interesting to see how Apple handles updates of Ping within iTunes and what’s up next for this software platform.