best podcast app

[clockwork]

i have searched but failed to find a definitive answer on the matter!!!
i have used "listen" by google, but it dosent update automatically, or find the new "kermode movie review" podcast for this week...

so my question is, what android podcast app can i subscribe to a podcast to and just let it update like on itunes? or am i using "listen" incorrectly and what should i do to get the most out of it?

thanks in advance

 

[G8D]

i have searched but failed to find a definitive answer on the matter!!!
i have used "listen" by google, but it dosent update automatically, or find the new "kermode movie review" podcast for this week...

so my question is, what android podcast app can i subscribe to a podcast to and just let it update like on itunes? or am i using "listen" incorrectly and what should i do to get the most out of it?

thanks in advance

If there is one that lets you enter RSS feeds then that one.

 

[clockwork]

ok so i found aCast... so far so good, i think it should update the RSS feeds every day so i dont have to think about downloading the new podcast...

thank you very much for your help G8D

 

[ianr]

Hello, I'd forget acast, I stuck with it since the day the Hero arrived (about a week after launch) until 2 weeks or so ago, it's very buggy and slows the phone down a lot. I switched to BeyondPod, it can download a podcast and play one at the same time without slowing the phone down, acast only has to be on the phone to make it crawl. Playing a podcast while using satnav was always rather dodgy with acast as it tended to stop playing partway through due to it eating CPU, and it rarely ever marked a podcast as played, requiring me to manage them by hand. BeyondPod is a far better app, it's an RSS reader too but it's not too good for that, but for podcasts it's responsive and leaves some CPU left for other apps. You can use it for free for 7 days then you need to pay, so you can try it without obligation. I've not tried doggcatcher, you only get 24 hours to try that before paying and there are complaints about it hogging the CPU so I doubt I'll bother with that.

 

[SeanyF]

I've been using Doggcatcher for a few weeks and find it excellent. You can set it up to automatically or manually update, to download only when on wi-fi or only when charging - and lots of other settings. I don't have to think about my podcasts any more - they're just always there. One of the best features for me is you can set up a folder as a virtual feed, meaning I can copy my recorded mp3s into the relevant folder and play them within Doggcatcher - better than the standard audio player as it has a fast forward button that you can set to skip a specified number of seconds. Not free, but worth the low price IMHO

 

[ianr]

You can do those things with BeyondPod too, although I'm not so sure about the folder as a virtual feed, I think acast can do that. I prefer the inbuilt player for playing most music as it's got the pause controls on the lock screen. I'd have tried doggcatcher if it wasn't for the 24-hour test period, it takes a lot longer than that to find the problems with a podcast app. Does doggcatcher slow the phone down much when playing and downloading? Beyondpod might as well not be running for all the impact it has on the phone performance, acast was a terrible performance hog. Beyondpod has a handy special feed that you can programme to play the first x podcasts on particular feeds at the press of a button and update those on demand, very useful for daily podcasts with timely information, e.g. news or sports podcasts that you want to listen to on the day they're released and aren't very interesting a few days later. You can split podcasts into user-defined categories and play an entire category (e.g. music, sport, general, etc) and set different update schedules for each one. I have my news ones updating 4 times a day and the rest just update once per day. It's also got a good widget (4x1) that's much more responsive than acast's was, although that isn't hard!

 

[Polarskates]

Downloaded BeyondPod on your recommendation IANR. Its working a treat for me and i now have several of my favourite radio shows stored. Cheers!

 

[prepbgg]

<QUOTE>am i using "listen" incorrectly</QUOTE>

The Search facility in Listen seems hopeless. None of the BBC podcasts I've tried to add have appeared in the results, even if I type in the exact name of the programme. This seems extraordinary for a product from Google, the Search experts!

Luckily, it seems to be possible to add a subscription to Listen simply by using the web Browser to locate a link to the podcast feed (in the BBC's podcast pages this will be shown as "RSS feed"), and tapping on the link. If Listen is installed a little menu pops up including an option to add the feed to Listen's subscriptions.

 

[cwrig]

I was using BeyondPod to download podcasts for certain rss feeds and it worked ok. But the feeds I am most interested in are weekly talks that are sometimes 60 minutes long, which translates to a long download time.

So; I was testing MediaMonkey for syncing my mp3s to Hero (which I recommend) and noticed mediaMonkey app (which runs on the PC) can subscribe to rss feeds/podcasts and include them with the syncing of mp3s. So, I removed BeyondPod from the hero and let MediaMonkey do all the heavy downloading on the PC. A couple times a week I connect the Hero via USB and tell MediaMonky to sync and all my music mp3s and poscasts move onto the Hero. Works well for me.

BTW; I love the combination of Amazon.com MP3 store and MediaMonkey. It is so much better than Itunes. With Amazon you get real MP3s with no decurity. You catually use the audio files wherever you want. A much better workflow than Apples propriatary locked down system.

 

[prepbgg]

I'm still trying to persevere with Listen, but it seems to be very much Work In Progress in many respects. There are interesting discussions about this in the "listen-discuss" area of Google Groups. One problem is that, once I've added a podcast feed to my subscriptions, it is rather hit-and-miss as to whether Listen will actually download the latest episode.

However, I have discovered that it seems to be easier than I thought to get an individual episode into the phone's storage card. Taking a BBC podcast as an example, simply navigate to the web page for that podcast, find the link to "Download" the individual episode, long-press the link and choose the "Save link" option. Despite what it says, this actually seems to download and save the target of the link, not the link itself. The mp3 file is saved in the "download" folder on the SD card and the Music app automatically shows it in the list of available Albums.

 

[krenoline]

I agree, google listen is not very good yet, I love doggcatcher also, easy to add podcasts and find them. It downloads a little slowly but I'd say worth the $$$

 

[odhinn]

You can check out MyPOD, there is a free version available in the market. It's a nice looking app, with all the features you need for a podcatching app, download on power/wifi, and you can select automatic updates and downloads on the feed.

I'm looking for a good video podcast app and tried MyPod. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to play mp4 videos. I add Attack of the Show and try to stream the episode, and it only plays the audio. I download the file, and the same thing. I go into the mypod directory and find the file and play it directly and it plays fine.

I rarely listen to audio podcasts - I just watch video podcasts while doing light cardio on a machine - so that's a deal breaker for me.

 

[MB200]

I'm also using DoggCatcher and love it. I've been using it about a month.

It is very well-supported by the developers with frequent code updates to enhance the product or fix minor bugs.

 

[_MarkC]

I'd like to bump this if I may, as I'm looking for a decent free podcast/rss app that will allow me to listen to the odd radio show from the BBC. I'm trying Beyond Pod but was wondering if there was a decent free alternative - I've encountered a few errors with downloading programs/shows beyond the first in a series. I have it synced to my Google Reader account which stores the subscriptions and if there is an app that can utilise this, I'd appreciate the advice, thanks.

 

[cabbie]

i just got beyondpod full version. It has certainly made everything a ton easier on me. Previously i was using doubletwist which was simply a gigantic pain in the ass, the thing just can't be made to sync right. I then tried Stitcher for streaming podcasts, but I listen to them mainly on my commute and traveling 70 mph being passed across a dozen cell towers was hell on streaming. So finally i got beyondpod, which gives you the choice to either stream or download the podcast (on a schedule) and once its set up, its wonderful. Even works with bluetooth controls.

I agree that its not a great RSS feed reader. I put my podcasts in as RSS feeds tho and its pretty simple to import them straight from google reader. But for text feeds, I'll stick with NewsRob. I'd be thrilled if they really brought great RSS feed reading to it but I'm happy with it as it is...for how much I listen to podcasts, 7 bucks one time fee is an easy choice.

 

[Howard Packer]

Another vote for Doggcatcher.

 

[cabbie]

read the reviews of doggcatcher because i was getting a touch of buyers remorse because i didnt even research it before i bought beyondpod. It seems to be very similar to BeyondPod. Same price, 7 bucks, great at podcasts, not so great at RSS feeds.

What are the real differences between them? Anyone tried both? Seems like its hard to go wrong with either.

Because its so easy now, my podcast listening has just exploded. I'm now subscribed to twit, twig, bol, adam carolla, net at night, android central, phandroid, engadget, am i bugging you, androidguys and i still need mooore! give me more!!

 

[marxmyth]

I am testing BeyonPod now. I like it so far. I'd love to see a good head to head comparison between this and doggcatcher.

 

[eelttam]

I read through this and didn't see any mention of hapi podcast - I've used it and after looking through several forums, I'm going to go back to it, as it is a free option, and I make a habit of using free apps. It will automatically download new podcasts (you can use RSS/Atom feeds as well). It's pretty basic, but does what I want it to, since I haven't found sufficient free software to automatically sync between iTunes and Android.

 

[chmura]

I really like Doggcatcher.

 

[joriq]

So far every podcast app I have seen requires you to add your files to a queue to listen to. Is there an app that you can just select a specific podcast and listen to all the new ones in it?

 

[bustedukulele]

I read through this and didn't see any mention of hapi podcast - I've used it and after looking through several forums, I'm going to go back to it, as it is a free option, and I make a habit of using free apps. It will automatically download new podcasts (you can use RSS/Atom feeds as well). It's pretty basic, but does what I want it to, since I haven't found sufficient free software to automatically sync between iTunes and Android.

I'm using Hapi Podcast and I love it. But I'm having trouble adding additional podcasts. For instance I want to subscribe to the Tony Kornheiser show. I think the problem is that I can't subscribe with RSS. Any ideas?

 

[tassiekev]

I'm using Hapi Podcast and I love it. But I'm having trouble adding additional podcasts. For instance I want to subscribe to the Tony Kornheiser show. I think the problem is that I can't subscribe with RSS. Any ideas?

If you go the website you give, there is a FAQ in the top left corner which gives the following link:

http://www.stationcaster.com/stations/wtem/?d=AM&cid=580

hope this helps

 

[houstonspace]

Listen has been driving me nuts. I used to think it was just my MyTouch 3G, then I got the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and it still has problems. I really like Google stuff, but this program is not ready for prime time. I have all of the problems that other people have - the inability to play a program properly until it's downloaded - the podcast restart problems, the slider not working right - starting programs from the beginning even though the slider says its in the middle of the podcast, not being able to find simple podcasts that I can find easily using Google search from a desktop. It's
maddening. I'll pony up the $6.99 for BeyondPod and see how well it works.

 

[siliconeagle]

I'll piut down a vote for MyPOD - It's the best one I've found and the dev is really helpful and responsive. It does everything I need it to audio and video podcasts , auto-downloading on power or wifi, reader integration. Takes a bit of time to learn because it has so many functions though. As the dev says it's a power user app. I've use it for a year and it's still the best I've found. I think the people who dont rate it dont give it the tiny bit of extra time it need to learn.