RealPlayer

Pros

• Can be tried for free
• Online video search gives you a useful tool
• Straightforward interface but somewhat cluttered

Cons

• Need to unlock the Pro Version to get the most from it
• .WMV and .MOV files don't work
• Excess clutter on the interface

RealPlayer plays music, videos and shows your pictures on the Android. This media player is your all-in-one media app, and it centralizes all your files to a single location. RealPlayer's problem is that the design isn't well thought out, and it lacks something in terms of usability. When it comes to user interface, it looks clean and crisp outside the excess clutter, and there are no real problems with the use of it. The app could also use an auto-refresh function for after you have added new media. If you don't know this, you can load RealPlayer and not find any files for listening or watching. Once you have added music, you will have to refresh and search for the files to force music to appear.

Sometimes video playback will fall short in the RealPlayer video format support. It will not, however, recognize .MOV and .WMV. RealPlayer also has problems with HD videos and loading them. To put a positive spin on it, the online video search provides you with a useful tool. The picture viewer on RealPlayer looks somewhat strange, and it shows your images and gives you the ability to play music as needed. You can also view this as a slideshow. Nevertheless, the sad fact is that Android's default picture gallery still does a better job of performing than RealPlayer.

In terms of being a music player, RealPlayer makes a decent addition if you decide to buy the Pro Version and unlock the many useful features like the music database, the graphic equalizer and the broader video playback options. RealPlayer hands you a basic media app, but can it compete against some of the others on the market? You do have some other more established apps that seem to do a better job, but the choice is up to you.

A new beta app for free, RealPlayer gets supported through ad revenue, and you'll see an ad every time you launch this app. Fortunately, you do not have a mandatory need to view these ads, and they close automatically if you navigate away from the featured tab. Some of the other tabs include Library, Burn and Now Playing. Once you have made your way over to the Library tab, you can search RealPlayer for media files. Luckily, the interface is fairly straightforward, and outside the clutter on the featured tab, the rest of RealPlayer looks pretty clean.

RealPlayers distinguishes itself through how it helps you manage your mobile devices. While previous versions only let you transfer files to the mobile device, the newest RealPlayer works in an almost opposite direction where you can transfer media files from your mobile device.

Pros

• Can be tried for free
• Online video search gives you a useful tool
• Straightforward interface but somewhat cluttered

Cons

• Need to unlock the Pro Version to get the most from it
• .WMV and .MOV files don't work
• Excess clutter on the interface