Android App Spotlight #27: doubleTwist

Price: Free

AppBrain

Website

We got some problems.

One of Android's weak points is media management. Every time I want to add music, movies, or books to my phone, I have to plug it in to my computer, mount it as a USB drive, go into my "Music" folder I created, and create a new file for the album. This is as barebones as it gets (You could use Awesome Drop if you wanted to make things easier, of course). iTunes doesn't have this problem - you drag music from your iTunes library into your phone, and that's that.

Speaking of iTunes, it sucks. Maybe that's a little harsh - I've been using it since version 4.1 back in 2003, and I like it because it can easily handle my 200GB of music without much stutter. Over six versions it's also become quite powerful and very customizable. Of course, over six versions its also become a bit bloated and outdated, offering support for a variety of services I have no interest in (friend me on Ping!) and it's incredibly frustrating how they've chosen not to properly implement coverart in recent versions. 

And while we're on the subject of flawed music software, let's get back to Android and its stock music player which hasn't been updated since Android 1.x. Aesthetically it doesn't fit with the rest of the OS, and it's limited in functionality - offering support only for music, organized in only a couple of different ways, and support for a playlist or two, not that I've ever went to the trouble of exporting an iTunes playlist as an .m3u and importing it to my phone. 

I got two words to say to all three problems: doubleTwist (maybe it's one word). It's been around for a while, and it consists of two separate components: a piece of software for your desktop, and an app.

The desktop application is pretty much a straight rip-off of iTunes, attempting to match most of its look and functionality. doubleTwist (program) imports your iTunes library and playlists, including pictures and videos. There's even a built-in video converter, so any video you drag onto your phone should theoretically be transcoded so as to be playable. You also get a podcast browser and an interface to Amazon MP3 for buying music. It's as close as you're getting to iTunes for Android, though there are plenty of problems with the software - I don't think it works with .m4p files, so any older music you've purchased through iTunes shouldn't work (though it's not like it was working on Android anyway). The video transcoder is a nice thought, but it doesn't fare that well in execution - any Xvid files I tried to convert failed with an error (though if you use RockPlayer it shouldn't be a problem). Otherwise, music, podcasts, and pictures are all easily added to my phone without issues. The worst part about the program is it isn't nearly as customizable as iTunes, offering many fewer ways to edit and organize tracks. It seems to be a bit slow to respond, too, like when I'm typing an artist into the search bar.

doubleTwist also offers an app that duplicated much of the functionality in the standard Music app, though in a better looking interface, and with the addition of some nice features. You still have your music sorting by artist, album, song, and playlist, but there's also a home for podcasts and videos that you've brought over from your computer. Also interesting is the radio entry, which seems to cull radio stations from all over the country, organize them by genre, and present them for your listening. It's no Pandora or Last.fm, but if you're looking for something a little more raw or specific, it's a pretty cool feature. 

As boring as it may be, the default Music app gets the playback right, featuring little more than the artist info, coverart, and big navigation buttons, and doubleTwist presents a similar look, though it doesn't add much aside from an easy way to rate music. It also doesn't have a landscape view, which can be frustrating for the car rides. Regardless, by keeping a similar presentation to the classic Android player, while updating the look and adding a handful of nice features, it keeps things familiar and usable. 

I don't think I'll keep using the doubleTwist program - it can't match the functionality of iTunes, and I have no problem digging into my phone's file structure to manually add songs. Other people might not feel so comfortable doing this, in which case I would recommend doubleTwist as the easiest way to get your songs onto your phone. I'm on the fence as to the app, too - I'm pretty content with the plain ol' Music player, but again, doubleTwist's product is a nice improvement for those who are looking for a little bit more from their players. The choice is up to you, and that's what Android's all about.