When it comes to downloading, most of us use the built-in download functionality that comes bundled with browsers. It is good as it comes integrated with the browser itself and browsers like Firefox and Chrome also allow users to pause and resume the downloads. But browser's downloading functionalities aren't sufficient if you do a lot of downloading.
Here's where download managers comes in to action. We have reviewed earlier Speed Download, which is still the best download manager out there available for Mac. Today, we're going to yet another mac download manager app.
SpeedTao, is a modern and fast downloader for Mac that comes with Twitter's Mac app like interface. It has got a nicer sleek interface as compared to Speed Download's. And what made me notice the app at first is it's amazing icon. SpeedTao is currently in beta but most of its functionality works just fine. It not only can download normal files from the web but you can also use it to download torrents.
Downloading with SpeedTao
When you fast start the app, the app asks you the integration level in the Welcome window. You can set the browsers you want to have SpeedTao integration with and enable One-click download functionality which will enable SpeedTao to quickly catch the download URLs from browsers.
If you want to use SpeedTao as your primary download manager, you can enable One-click download and integrate it with the browsers you use, otherwise you'll have to manually use the app. When you want to download something, you can just copy the link of the file and create a new transfer in SpeedTao. It should automatically recognise the link and you will just have to press the Start button to start the download.
One not so good thing about SpeedTao is that it doesn't asks user where to keep the file while starting the download, it just puts the stores the file at the default download location.
The app displays the download progress with transfer rate. It also displays the size of the file that's already downloaded and that's to be downloaded. Along with that, it also displays a share button on hover, using which users can share the download with others. There's a resume and pause button at the top to resume or pause all downloads at once. While downloading, it also displays the download progress bar in the SpeedTao icon in the dock.
SpeedTao allows users to set max upload and download speed which is a nice feature. Users can switch to Downloads in progress, Completed downloads, Remote downloads and E2DK Search from the left panel.
SpeedTao Preferences & Features
The app gives nice set of basic as well as advanced options. In General Settings, you can set the default download location, set maximum number of active transfers, enable launch at login and set whether you want to start all transfers manually, to open files on completion and mute notification sound. In UI Settings, you can control some basic appearance options including whether to display dock icon or menu bar icon or both.
Users can also setup Remote downloads using their iCloud or Dropbox account. Apart from that, SpeedTao gives P2P transfer options as well as some system and integration options.
Final Thoughts
The app comes with some really useful features like Remote Downloads and support for Torrent downloads. The integration with browsers make it very easy to start downloads, and the app's interface makes download management simple. The app is worth using if you're thinking to use an app to manage your downloads.