iMesh - I have used this program before and have been pretty disappointed with it. You see, when I got it for the first time, I had installation problems, setting up problems, problems getting onto the server etc. I was then recommended to download it again a couple of months later by a friend, so I thought "ok, lets give it another go". And I had the same problems again. Which was annoying. So you'll understand why I haven't used this program until now when I forced myself to review it. And did I have the same problems as before? I hear you ask. Well, no, I didn't. It seems that iMesh has got past its Beta 2 coding, and this seems to have cured my previous problem.

And it really amazes me why I didn't use this program before. Let me tell you now - its great. Everything about it seems right, its searches, its download speeds, its layouts, its internal players - everything.

So, let me start with the layout of iMesh (see screenshot). Well, iMesh's layout can be compared to Morpheus's one - its pretty similar, only feels slightly less cluttered. Oh, and by the way, you'll notice that I'll be comparing this program a lot to Morpheus throughout this review - much due to the fact that the programs are just so similar. There are tabs at the top to navigate around, and if you don't like the tabs, you can get rid of them in favour of a more "Microsoft Outlook" style. Which is pretty cool. And the interface looks very nice too, and is all very customisable. The only bad thing about iMesh is that it doesn't have a proper "Home" tab like Morpheus or Napster - instead you have a tab which displays all the sponsers and adverts from iMesh. Which kinda sucks.

Anyways, the search facilities of iMesh are very good. You have the choice of filtering your searches by audio, video, software, images etc. (see screenshot) However, you can't have sub-searches between these catorgories like you can on Morpheus - for example, you can't search for a certain bitrate for your wanted MP3s, or for a type of video file. This ain't that much of a bad thing though. However, on the good side, the display of the searches are very fast.

But the one and probably only downfall of iMesh is the lack of search results I received for software and video queries. I usually download as many Linkin Park videos as I can find, and I didn't find much on iMesh - only 2 in fact, in comparison to over 20 I found in Morpheus. The same can be said for when I searched for the movie: "Tomb Raider". However, iMesh is great for getting rare MP3s - so I can recommend it as an alternative for you to use over Napster.

Positive notes on iMesh include the speed of the downloads - if you are downloading a popular file (popular files are measured in stars under "Availability" in the search results - which is also pretty cool :), then iMesh uses the same type of technology as Morpheus, in which the file you download is not just being obtained from one user, but several users, so you get a much faster transfer speed. This type of technology I feel is great, and should be used by all file-sharing clients. iMesh also supports resume-able (is that even a word?!) downloads, so you can continue interrupted transfers.

But the real gem of this program is the one thing I haven't mentioned yet - the internal player. (see screenshot) Let me say this - it really surprised me. Before reviewing this, the only program I was aware of that plays MPEG videos and MP3s - when incomplete of complete was Morpheus. But now, iMesh can also be added to that list. iMesh even goes a step further by allowing you to play complete .avi files - which is very rare for a filesharing program. You still need to get the Divx codec to play them, but the fact that it works really surprised me. (By the way, a little note - if, when playing you video files, you can only hear the sound, but can't see the video, press Alt + Enter to get into and out of fullscreen mode - iMesh doesn't make this clear in its client). The internal player is available under the tab "Media Manager" which is a pretty cool place to browse your files - although maybe not as good as Morpheus's alternative. 

SUMMARY: This program really does seem to have it all - a nice and easy to use interface, a good search engine, fast downloads, and brilliant internal audio and video players. However, the only place it really fails to deliver on is the fact that there are some searches that you could perform which will see few results (as from my examples above.) However, this can all be sorted out simply if more people a) share files and b) download the client. Hopefully this will happen soon. Apart from this fact, however, it manages to be as good as, if not better, then any other file-sharing program currently available. So, iMesh - one for the beginners I feel, but there is something there for the advanced users.

Pros : Lots of features -  Great Internal Player - Fast downloads - Finds rare MP3s - Nice and neat interface - Fast search results

Cons : Finds few rare files that can be found on other file sharing programs - Needs more files to be shared

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