CopyPod v9.32 Suite Reviewed [Archive]

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Jeremy Charette

04-04-2007, 03:00 PM

<img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/dmt/2007/copypod-intrographic-jeremy.gif" /> Product Category: iPod Backup & Recovery Software Manufacturer: <a href="http://www.copypod.net/aboutus.php">WindSolutions LLC</a> Where to Buy: <a href="http://www.copypod.net/purchase.php">Direct from CopyPod.net</a> Price: $49.60 USD System Requirements: Microsoft Windows XP or Vista Compatible PC, Apple iTunes, Apple iPod Pros: <li>Allows users to restore their iTunes library after a system crash;<li>Allows users to create backup images of their iPods;<li>Users can manage multiple iTunes libraries on a single computer. Cons: <li>Honestly? None! Summary: Worst case scenario: the computer with your iTunes library on it is stolen. You buy a new computer, but now all your music is stuck on your iPod! What do you do now!? Do what I did: get CopyPod. Read on for the full review!<!> <PAGEBREAK> CopyPod Suite: A Lifesaver Think it couldn’t happen to you? So did I. Last October, after returning home from a trip, my laptop was stolen out of the back of my car. Most of my data was backed up on the hard drive I’d replaced a year earlier, but I lost two important things: my music, and my photos. Luckily my iPod was in a different bag, and hadn’t been stolen. I recently put together a new computer, and plugged in my iPod, only to discover one unfortunate thing: iTunes only transfers one way! I cannot tell you how distraught I was at the idea of having to re-rip my ENTIRE music collection. Even if I did that, the content I’d purchased from iTMS would be lost. iTunes would automatically replace all the content on my iPod with the library on my new PC. So I set about looking for a solution. I found it: the CopyPod Suite. What does it do? Well, let’s take a look: <li>Full backup of your iPod;<li>Restore your iPod from a backup image in just a few clicks;<li>Saves/Restores music playlists and personal information;<li>Retrieve iPod missing songs;<li>Full compatibility with all existing iPods;<li>Saves/Restores Photo albums on your iPod;<li>Safely manage several iPods on a single computer. <!> How Hard is it to Use? It’s easy! I fired up fired up CopyPod, plugged in my iPod, and it automatically listed all the songs. I selected all of them, pressed “Backup To iTunes”, and in about 25 minutes all the music from my iPod was back on my PC. Brilliant! Now if you just want to restore a specific artist, album, or playlist; or only certain songs, you can do that as well! <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/charette-feb07-copypodsuite-1.jpg" /> Figure 1: CopyPod in action. <!> What Else Can it Do? Well, you can use CopyPod Photo to backup, restore, and view photos on your iPod. <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/charette-feb07-copypodsuite-2.jpg" /> Figure 2: CopyPod Photo, displaying some of the pictures I took at the Windows Vista Launch Event. iCloner creates a backup image file of your iPod. You can also restore your iPod using this image file if you need to for some reason. This is particularly handy when sending back your iPod for service. When it comes back (hopefully good as new), one click and all your files and personal information are restored. <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/charette-feb07-copypodsuite-3.jpg" /> Figure 3: iCloner screenshot. With iLibs, you can manage multiple iTunes libraries on a single computer. Let's say you share your computer with a few friends, or with your family. Or say you have multiple iPods, and your entire music collection won't fit on some of them. iLibs allows you to quickly and easily switch between libraries and users to keep them from getting mixed up. Once setup, all of these functions are easily available from an icon in the system tray. <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/charette-feb07-copypodsuite-4.jpg" /> Figure 4: iLibs screenshot. Lastly, SyncGuardian (formerly PodTools) allows you to control how, when, and what iTunes updates on your iPod. No more accidental deletion drama! You change a bunch of other settings, including whether iTunes launches when the iPod is connected, enable/disable disk use, or if artwork is displayed on the iPod. <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/charette-feb07-copypodsuite-5.jpg" /> Figure 5: SyncGuardian screenshot. <!> Conclusions With the CopyPod suite you won't have to worry about what happens if your computer or your iPod crash, or are stolen. As long as you have one, you'll always be able to restore the other. If you've got an iPod, this software package is an absolute must-have. Even if you don't need everything this suite is capable of, the individual programs are available for $19.90 each. Jeremy Charette is a blogger, Xbox fanboy, and webmaster. His claim to fame is proposing to his ex-fiancee on national television. When not writing for Digital Media Thoughts or editing his own website, he's an Engineering Manager in the manufacturing industry. He's currently waiting for a 42" LCD TV to drop from the sky.

Vincent Ferrari

04-04-2007, 03:46 PM

Although the price for it pains me ($19.90 for Copypod itself) I've recommended it to numerous Windows users I know and they've all loved it. Frankly, it does what it says it does, and it does it well.

The only reason it pains me, btw, is that Senuti, which does almost the same thing, is free for the Mac but like I said, it's worth the $20 because it works 100% of the time. The suite is intriguing, but $47 seems like gouging a bit to me...

Dyvim

04-04-2007, 04:10 PM

I think the price is way steep for what you get.

iTunes includes backup functionality in case you want to backup your music collection.

iTunes 7 allows you to manage multiple libraries already.
Or you can do it via Libra, which can be used free or registered for $10.

Restoring content from your iPod to desktop can be done through several products, such as iGadget ($15) - and you don't need to purchase them until\unless you have a crash. I had one a couple months ago where I lost a 250 GB hard drive and gladly shelled out $15 to retrieve the 60 GB of music (my entire collection- some 300 cds encoded at 192 kbps and maybe 100 cds in lossless) on my iPod.

Jeremy Charette

04-04-2007, 06:57 PM

I think the price for CopyPod itself ($19.90) is entirely reasonable for what it does (especially given the alternatives...). As far as paying for it, well, you don't have to pay to register it until you need it (i.e. when your iPod or your PC crashes).

As far as iTunes' backup functionality, it doesn't do any good if you use it. I don't. I'd imagine most people don't. This is why products like CopyPod exist. If iTunes had a "recover music collection" function built-in, we wouldn't need CopyPod.

I did find one small limitation: CopyPod won't restore smart playlists, only conventional playlists. Unfortunately there's no way around this, as smart playlists are stored and managed in iTunes, not on the iPod itself.

Vincent Ferrari

04-04-2007, 07:01 PM

If you buy your stuff from iTunes, you can get everything back either by having Apple put them back in your queue or by transferring your purchases back from your iPod to iTunes.

I think what rubs people the wrong way about paying $19.90 for the Copy function is that something like Senuti for the Mac does it for free and does exactly the same thing.

If you're in a bind, it'll get you out. It works great.

But I do think they're taking advantage along the lines of the folks who charge $50 for an unerase program for flash cards knowing some panicky person will want to do whatever they can to salvage their pictures.

Jeremy Charette

04-04-2007, 07:13 PM

Well, there's no "free" alternative for Windows (at least none that I've found). Certainly nothing that works as well, with as simple of a user interface. It's like insurance, you'll probably never need it, but if you do, it's well worth the price.