kAldownp

Some multimedia players have managed to build quite the reputation over the years, including the one Windows provides by default. However, you might not need all those fancy designs or ambiguous features to simply listen to your favorite songs. If so, kAldownp comes as a clean alternative to help you relax after a long day’s work.

It doesn’t take a lot of time before you can take the application for a spin because the installer keeps you busy for a short while. Although it’s a default feature on modern Windows iterations, you need to be sure that .NET Framework is on your PC before you can enjoy all kAldownp has to offer.

Truth be told, the visual design is a little rough around the edges, with plain buttons, sliders, and list boxes used in the development process. Textures used don’t help the application stand out from the crowd either, and even though there are two color schemes you can use, switching doesn’t make a significant difference.

Dropping files over the main window has no effect so you must rely on the browse dialog to pick one or more files to add to the playlist. However, you can only load those audio files under the MP3 format. The application can connect to online radio streams if you provide an appropriate M3U file.

Playback too leaves more to be desired. First of all, the playlist can’t be saved, and all items are discarded on exit. Most importantly, the application doesn’t automatically jump to the next file in the playlist, and without any hotkey support you need to bring up the main window every time a song ends.

Taking everything into consideration, kAldownp is far from delivering at least the bare necessities for a comfortable audio experience. You can only play files under one particular format, with no option to save playlists, and a great deal of effort is required overall, especially because the next song doesn’t kick in unless you say so.