Finally.Īnd here’s the part I really love: you can set Downcast to check your podcast subscriptions for new episodes automatically, anywhere from once a day to hourly, and even download them in the background. Once you’ve got your podcasts all set up (and yes, you’ll have to recreate any podcast collection that you might have on iTunes), just go to your list of subscriptions and tug it down with your fingertip Downcast will then check for and download any and all new episodes, all in one shot. I couldn’t ask for a better design, and it’s well worth the very small $1.99 price being asked.Downcast can check your podcast subscriptions and download new episodes automatically.Ī “universal” app that also works on the iPad and iPod Touch, Downcast ($1.99) lets you browse, search for, and subscribe to podcasts from your iPhone. No more being tethered to your desktop or laptop for shows, which is even better when traveling. In Conclusionĭowncast is a podcast fan’s dream. The good news is that both issues are already being addressed by the developer for future updates. I have a feeling that second one can be done once iCloud shows up in iOS5. Secondly, it would be awesome to have the app able to sync your played/unplayed items between iOS devices (ie: if you watch it on your iPad, it won’t still show as new on your iPhone). I don’t always notice when it’s downloading and may miss when I have something new. I have two small requests of the developer, which I’ve already mentioned on Twitter with positive response: The app could really use a setting to make the badge appear for unplayed podcasts. Downcast gives you the option to delete podcast manually, have them auto-delete by age, or auto-delete once they’re played. If you don’t delete podcasts, they’re going to take up all of your iDevice’s storage space in no time (especially vodcasts). This means you can easily skip over any possible spoilers or those obligatory “words from our sponsors”.Īnother useful setting is the deletion options. Playback also features the ability to fast forward or rewind in 15 second and 30 second chunks, something greatly lacking from the iPod player. You can also play shows as a stream while they’re still downloading, or even by default (with a choice in the settings). Both sort by the oldest episodes (grouped by show) and remove themselves after they’re played automatically. I was quickly able to set up one for podcasts and one for vodcasts. You can pick episodes individually, or you can make smart playlists inside the app. Once you’ve got your list, playback is as easy as pie. Also, don’t worry, you can change the settings to ensure it only downloads when you have a WiFi connection, so no surprise data overages. It’s all very flexible and global download/keep settings can be overridden on a per-podcast basis! It will refresh at almost any interval you want, as well, displaying a badge on the springboard to alert you a download has begun. You can then adjust the settings to download only the most current episode or all new episodes. Once you subscribe, the newest episode will download in the background unobtrusively. The app allows you to read descriptions of each podcast, and view the available episodes (and individual episode descriptions) before you subscribe. ![]() You can search by name or by topic and get a very complete list. The search feature of Downcast is extremely robust. When I heard about this one, I was skeptical at first, but it won me over VERY quickly. I’ve tried a few apps that advertise that they can do this, but none delivered. Now that I have Downcast, I have even less to complain about.ĭowncast is a universal app that allows you to subscribe to podcasts and vodcasts and have them automatically download to your iOS device without any effort on your part. I’ve been using iTunes to aggregate my podcasts for over five years with little complaint. Listening to and watch the majority (I’d guess 95%) of these on my iPhone and iPad, my biggest complaint is always syncing them over from my computer. I also get several vodcasts which take the place of TV in my life. I listen to between 40 and 60 hours of podcasts a week.
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