Entered CNET Catalog: 08/19/2005
SKU: CNETPOD2GO
Manufacturer: Kainjow Software
Manufacturer description
With Pod2Go, you can read the news from thousands of web sites, get the forecast for cities around the world, view movie showtimes for your local theaters, find your way around town with driving directions, or even sing along to the lyrics of your favorite song, all from your iPod! Pod2Go turns your iPod into a PDA. Calendars, contacts, to-do's, notes, and much more can be quickly accessed. If you need a PDA but only need to view your data, Pod2Go and your iPod are a perfect match. You can also read your unread messages from Apple's Mail, or even your Stickies. Everytime your sync your iPod, Pod2Go simply formats text downloaded from the internet into an iPod-friendly format, and then writes it to your iPod. Pod2Go works with all existing iPods, including the iPod photo! Older iPods with the mechanical scroll wheel will have their data stored as contact files, and newer iPods (touch sensitive) will use the notes feature. Pod2Go is very customizable to suit your needs. Pod2Go can automatically sync at certain times of the day, and when your iPod is connected to your computer. It can also eject your iPod when its finished syncing, so you don't even have to touch your mouse.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 08/24/2005
Start by downloading the free, fully functional, Mac-only 15-day demo. When you install the program, you'll see a new iPod-shaped icon in your menu bar that you use to open the full app or to perform a quick sync. Open the full application and you see a simple and clear interface that lays out the different parts of the program: news, weather, movies, stocks, and more. Plus and minus buttons at the bottom of the window let you add or delete entries to each area. For example, click the plus button in the news section and you get a list of newsfeeds to choose from. You also have the option of adding your own feed.
Pod2Go has some useful extras that show how much thought went into the program. You can use its backup tool to automatically save files to your iPod, putting more of your iPod's hard drive to use. It also has a launch tool so that you can specify applications that should launch when you plug in your iPod. We especially like the lyrics tool, which can find and download the lyrics to any song in your iTunes library with just two clicks; then display the lyrics as note files or save them to the songs' lyrics tags. The lyrics interface is confusing at first, though, and could use a little more explanation. Also, it occasionally couldn't find the correct lyrics for our tracks. That was our only snag with Pod2Go, however. For $15, it looks like a bargain. It even has good support options for shareware, including a support wiki, forums, and a mail form.
