Is there really an alternative to iTunes?

Things aren’t always as simple as they seem. Take Napster and iTunes, for example. They appear pretty similar – they’re music players that double as music shops; they can transfer tunes to your portable player, burn songs to CD or turn your existing CDs into shiny digital music files, and they’re very easy to use.

But under the hood they’re very different. When you choose one over the other you’re not just choosing a music player: you’re making a decision that also affects what hardware you can use now and in the future.

The reason is copy protection. Both Napster and iTunes use it to stop downloaders becoming music pirates, but they don’t use the same systems. If you buy songs from iTunes they will only work on Apple hardware and software, which means that you can forget about transferring your purchases to a Creative Zen.

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Similarly Napster’s copy protection only works with PlaysForSure devices, so you can’t transfer your tunes to an iPod (or a Zune, which uses yet another kind of copy protection). Apple also sells unprotected tracks labelled iTunes Plus, but the range is limited – and because iTunes refuses to talk to any portable player that isn’t an iPod, transferring your iTunes Plus tracks to anything else is a royal pain in the backside.

There are other key differences, too. Napster tracks are 128Kbps Windows Media files, while iTunes ones are 128Kbps AACs. To our ears, AAC sounds slightly better and the 256Kbps iTunes Plus tracks sound better still. iTunes sells video clips and Napster doesn’t, and while both programs enable you to access your music on multiple PCs, Apple lets you do it on five machines but Napster limits you to three.

Both programs include an online shop that you can use to buy, download and listen to tracks 24 hours a day, but they take different approaches. iTunes works on a pay-per-download system; Napster also offers a pay-as-you-go option, or a monthly subscription.

With iTunes, you pay per track – 79p, 99p for iTunes Plus or £1.89 for a music video – and it’s as simple as that. With Napster, though, you have three choices. There’s a pay-as-you-go option at 79p per track, plus there are two more interesting options: the PC Music Service at £9.95 per month, and Napster To Go at £14.95 per month.

Both of these options give you unlimited music downloads from a library of four million tracks, and if you go for the more expensive To Go service you also get unlimited transfers to your portable player. However, you don’t own the music – you’re renting it. If you want to burn songs to CD or keep tracks forever you’ll need to buy them because, once you stop paying the subscription, your rented tracks will stop working within a few weeks.

So which one is right for you? If you want to buy video clips, then iTunes is your only option – Napster’s offerings don’t include music videos. If you want a subscription music service, then Napster To Go is the way to, er, go. However, if you want to own your music, burn the odd track to CD and listen to your tunes without worrying about paying subscription fees, the choice ultimately depends on your choice of music hardware. If you own or plan to own an iPod, iPhone or some other Apple music gadget then iTunes is the only game in town. If you don’t, Napster’s the better choice.

Our verdict