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It’s hard not to fall in love with this player as soon as it loads up, even though it takes quite a few more seconds than it’s previous version to boot, and consumes quite a lot more RAM (when you’re browsing in the Album Cover mode, it takes roughly 50 megs of RAM).

Having tried, both Microsoft’s Windows Media Player 11, I definitely have to say, that the new iTunes feels like a new version, while WMP11 feels like a skin.

In this new version of iTunes, it feels like they copied a bit Microsoft’s album browser, let me demonstrate:

Some of you might be thinking “hey those are nothing alike”, but if you have both players, and look carefully, you’ll definitely find some resemblances.

One of the things I definitely disliked in iTunes 6 is that the album cover was only displayed when a music was playing. But now, I have 3 modes of choosing my music, and each one is useful depending on what you’re trying to find.

The first mode, is the mode you had on iTunes 6. If your machine lacks a decent quantity of RAM, or decent processing power, this is probably the mode you’ll prefer, for technical reasons. And that’s really unfortunate, because the new modes to browse your music are really satisfying. If your music is organized.

Apple knew that it was important for you to have your album covers, and the correct information, in order to find iTunes 7 more satisfying, that is why you can now download album covers from their store. I haven’t tried this feature yet, because I don’t have a Visa card, however, I think that it’s definitely a step in the right direction, even though I feel that just for registering, you shouldn’t have to give your credit card information.

Many Apple also noticed quickly, that iTunes features a slightly different look, and some even hinted that this new look might be the look of their upcoming Mac OS X (Leopard).

The differences are very subtle, but overall, it looks a bit darker than iTunes 6, but feels more like metal, instead of plastic (just like their new Nanos). It’s also a bit more “blue”, but not as blue as the logo’s blue.

Regarding music browsing, there aren’t many differences. There’s now a small arrow next to the magnifying glass icon on the search box, that allows you to search for “artist”, “album”, etc, or simply “All” (like 6 does). But overall, the way music is organized is basically the same.

For me one of the best features of this iTunes is the improved iPod integration. Instead of your iPod simply being a “folder” where you can drag music and playlists, you can now manage everything your iPod can offer. You can now easily synchronize your My Pictures folder with your iPod, your contact cards, update your iPod, etc. Except for the Notes, you can now update your iPod without leaving iTunes, which is great.

Conclusion: iTunes takes a bigger slice of your RAM, but definitely brings great improvements. If you have an iPod, you’ll enjoy this update more than others.

As for Windows Media Player 11, I guess we’ll just have to wait for version 12 for them to pickup to where iTunes is. But that will probably be an exclusive to Vista 2 or whatever (like anyone buys Microsoft’s OS because of it…)