Taking a slightly different approach to solving the multimedia lover's dilemma of how best to download torrents is BitComet, which uses an interface heavily cribbed from Windows Explorer--with a dose or two from the basic BitTorrent template--to create something instantly recognizable to the user.

There's a familiar tree of features on the left, including links to torrent-aggregating Web sites and several promotional offers. The top of the app has big buttons with familiar icons, the center window shows the files being downloaded, and the bottom pane has tracker and peer info. The pane on the right rounds out the layout, with a torrent search feature and advertising. Among the usual features, BitComet offers chat capabilities, the ability to bookmark your favorite sites, a toolbar for Internet Explorer 7, and a context menu for Firefox 2.

While the app held its own against better-known competitors in terms of speed and handling multiple torrents, we found the ubiquitous advertisements to be annoying compared to the competition's ad-free environs. Overall, we think BitComet is worth trying and could become a major torrent app in the future.

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