Overall Impressions
Many of us need an enhancement in the internet speed when downloading files, especially the users with a limited bandwith. Internet Download Manager is a download accelerator that will manage your files in an efficient way, increasing up to 500% the download speed. IDM has a lot of extra features to offer as well: the possibility to schedule the download, to resume downloads when something happens to the connection and some more. Don’t let yourselves fooled of advertisements like: “download internet download manager for free”. It offers only a 30 day free trial, after which one can choose to pay a license for enjoying a higher internet speed.
Installation and support
IDM provides a fast installation, due to the fact that there aren’t any toolbars or additional programs. It’s not so picky with the Internet browser you use, so you ca integrate it with Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Opera. Unfortunately, IDM is available only for the Windows operating system, so the users of Windows 7, Vista and XP can enjoy it. The installation program will check the speed of your Internet connection and well and it also integrates an automatic antivirus checking.
Interface and features
For a tool that integrates you with the latest versions of Firefox and Chrome, IDM’s plain design doesn’t impress much, reminding about Windows 2000 themes, with big buttons on the top, which offer a little animation when you put the mouse over. The good thing is that it’s more user friendly than other download accelerators.
The package of features the software comes with are the ones to impress, next to the download speed. It manages perfectly the downloads; all the user has to do is to let IDM capture links. You just click on a certain file type (specified through configuration options) and Internet Download Manager will manage the download itself, instead of letting the browser do handle it. Everything is automatic: you don’t have to move from one application to another, copying and pasting.
A great feature is the customizable download scheduler, which connects to the internet at a scheduled time, downloading the files you want, automatically disconnecting and shutting down the computer. Then, there is a Grabber tool which enables the user to download files from video-sharing sites like YouTube. It also has the capacity to resume the unfinished downloads is the connection is lost and to classify the downloads into custom categories before starting them.
Pros
- Increases the download speed with 500%
- Supports all important browsers
- Features a download schedule
- Boasts a download grabber
Cons
- Offers a paid service
- Available just for Windows users
Alternatives
For those who aren’t convinced that they should pay for this kind of downloader managers, there are also free tools. Free Download Manager is a product that addresses only the users of Windows and provides useful features like a scheduler or a resume of lost downloads.
One of the alternatives for those who use other platforms besides Windows could be DownThemAll, which offers support to Windows, Mac and Linux, but it’s a Mozilla free extension, so it works only on Mozilla.
Mipony is useful when downloading files from Rapidshare and Megaupload and the user doesn’t even need to open the browser. With Wellget, one can pause and resume the downloads or shut down the computer.
Download Accelerator Plus and FlashGet are other download managers and accelerators to be mentioned.
Conclusion
Even in a world in which broadband connectivity gets better day by day, Internet Download Manager, with his range of functions devoted to manage your downloads, makes the live of a download addict much easier.
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