If you have been to the uTorrent website these days you may have noticed an advertisement for uTorrent Plus placed prominently on the site. But even if you have not visited the main site recently, you may have spotted the uTorrent Plus application in the client itself.
So what’s uTorrent Plus, and how does it compare to uTorrent Free? Both programs use the same core, you could say that all features of uTorrent Free are included in uTorrent Plus.
When you look at the comparison chart, you will notice that the company lists four additional uTorrent Plus features. The exclusive features are built-in antivirus protection, a HD media player, a mobile device converter and the option to download contents remotely.
These new features come at a price; The company is asking for $24.95 for a 12-month subscription to uTorrent Plus (with six additional months for pre-orders). It is clear that the company is not targeting tech savvy users with the plus version of uTorrent, as they would not really have problems finding and running alternatives to what Plus offers.
But even inexperienced users who may benefit from the all-in-one application approach that uTorrent Plus offers may be left in bewilderment about the additional features. The program is currently in testing and that may explain the absence of information on the uTorrent website.
Questions that remain unanswered include:
- Which antivirus solution is integrated into the client. How does it compare, and how compatible is the feature with other antivirus software installed on the computer system.
- What exactly does remotely downloaded content mean?
- Which functionality is provided by Convertor?
You need to look around quite a bit to find answers to those questions. According to an Extreme Tech article the antivirus solution is provided by BitDefender. uTorrent Free users can download the Virus Guard app for their client which provides basic virus detection. The built-in antivirus solution of uTorrent Plus includes a larger database and virus removal options, which the free version does not offer.
Remotely downloaded content adds capabilities to uTorrent Remote, the web-based control panel of the software. It allows uTorrent Plus users in particular to download files remotely from the web interface. Users can log in from any computer to transfer files to that computer right from the client running uTorrent.
The convertor adds device specific conversions to uTorrent. The idea is simple. You add your mobile and external devices, like your smartphone, gaming console or hardware media player to the list of devices in uTorrent. You can then use uTorrent to transfer optimized contents to those devices.
The features that uTorrent Plus offers can make the life of uTorrent users more comfortable. Especially the ability to convert media before it is transferred to external devices from inside the software, and the ability to download uTorrent files remotely are noteworthy.
The antivirus protection on the other hand and the HD media player are additions that may not be necessary for the majority of users. It does not really make sense to use a built-in antivirus solution if system wide antivirus protection is running on the system. I personally like some of the features provided by uTorrent Plus, and do not have issues with the commercial version as long as it is not limiting the free version in any way.
What’s your take on uTorrent Plus? Let me know in the comments.
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Less is more for sure in this case.
The “Plus” features are pointless other
than the attempt for µTorrent to generate
revenue which is their right should they chose.
I still use µTorrent v1.7.7.
I agree, I do not mind the idea at all and if they can make money out of it, even better. As long as it does not have influence on the free version of course.
They of course line themselves up squarely with the legal issues by receiving payment – regardless of whether they say it’s for the “other” features.
One of the significant reasons for courst siding with content owners was that piratebay etc. were receiving payment for providing what torrent sites called links.
This grab for money might be the start of the end of utorrent in its current form. I would keep those older versions around just in case….
It seems that I just don’t need any of the features of uTorrent Plus. There are many external apps for that functionality, and I don’t need it built-in.
thanks ^^
uTorrent free is the best, I like Trasmittion very much!
http://www.ideageek.it/nuovo-client-torrent-trasmittion/
I’d say the only feature worth checking out Utorrent plus for is the remote capabilities. The other three can be achieved by installing external applications. It’s definitely not worth paying 24.95 every 12 months for…
Wouldn’t it be ironic to use a torrent to download utorrent plus?
Ironic yes. Possible – probably not. Since utorrent went closed source many years ago, there are certain IP addresses that utorrent hooks into without showing up on their IP connections window.
I’m guessing that these belong to utorrent – if so, you’ll need a crack and working cracks for online programs (say for example IDM) are not plentiful.
why do developers insist on bloating a good software with “features” that are not needed? did someone from MS take over development?
this is a bad, very bad money losing move
I wonder if they will add bloatware to the free version of utorrent when this goes live, and if so which will replace utorrent as the main client for most people?
Excellent information
does this mean you can save movies to an xbox because thats where im getting confused?
You can convert movies so that they can be played on the xbox.
why do we need extra features plus version. My version v 3.1 is also compatible for me and I’ve considered no need extra cash for new features of plus……
if client gets bad in the future because of the money making i change the client…