Apple's iTunes player

iTunes is a media player program created by Apple Inc. in early 2001. It is used mostly on desktop computers but can also be found in other Apple created devices like the iPods, iPhones and more recently developed iPads.

The iTunes program is used worldwide by millions of people who have either a Mac or a PC and is available for download for the Macintosh operating system as well as the competing Windows operating system. Downloading iTunes is free no matter the OS or computer.

The Apple created software is used mainly to play and also organize digital music or video files. iTunes is directly connected to the iTunes Store which is an online store also developed by Apple, where people can download music to their computer or device. iTunes also allows purchasing of music videos, games, audiobooks, television shows, podcasts, movies and ringtones. Applications for Apple devices are also available for download in the App Store.

When it comes to managing media files iTunes can include specific formats, most of them very common and widely used, but the program is also able to convert other formats into Apple Lossless, in order to make it readable. Importing audio CDs is also possible. File metadata like artist name, album, genre, etc. is part of how iTunes organizes music files.

iTunes has many useful features like Genius, introduced in iTunes 8, which creates playlists based upon songs similar to the one selected. iTunes library sharing allows people to share their music over a local network, like when a house has more computers and the media files needs to be played on another computer than the one originally holding the data.

iTunes playlists are intuitive and offer great help when choosing music, while playlists make it easy for users to organize their files. Synchronizing iTunes with other devices is usually a problem that many have and needs to be improved, but otherwise iTunes tends to fulfill all the needs of a media player.