Downcast

The first app I wanted to write about is Downcast. This is probably the best podcast app I've ever used. It does cost $1.99, but if you listen to podcast on a frequent basis, it is a must have.

Downcast allows you to download, manage and listen to podcast from your iDevice without having to sync with iTunes. It's very straight forward and easy to use.

I've only had two issues with Downcast personally, one of those being an iOS issue that is out of there control. The first issue, is that I've never been able to get an episode to stream successfully. I can download and play them back just fine, which is what I do 99% of the time anyway, but streaming has never worked for me. I would bet that its something I'm doing wrong, but either way, if you plan on streaming everything (which kind of defeats the purpose) this may be a bigger issue for you.

The second issue is that it won't run all night and download new episodes as they come out unless it is the active application. That's an iOS behavioral thing so I'm not knocking Downcast for this by any means, however it is annoying. For those not familiar with how iOS works, an app is only active while you are using it. Once the device is locked or the app is in the background it will only run for a maximum of 10 minutes before it is set to a suspended state. You can read a much better and more detailed post about iOS multitasking here and here.

You can also search for and sign up for podcast directly from within downcast as well.

The features that make Downcast a must buy for me are the following:

• Ability to download podcast directly to the iPhone.
• Limit downloading to WiFi only.
• Automatically delete episodes after they have been listened to / watched.
• Ability to lock episodes so they won't be deleted.
• Listen to episodes in the background.
• Gesture controls (great for fast forwarding / rewinding).
• Customize skip forward / back times.
• Create playlist from within the app.
• Sleep timer.
• Manage subscriptions.

Those aren't necessarily all the features of Downcast, but they are the reasons I like it so much.

Need a few podcast to check out? Here are a few of the ones I listen to:
/Filmcast. Great movie and television discussions. Official podcast of /Film.com.
FilmRiot. A look at how movies are made.
Totally Rad Show. Nerd is the new cool. Comics, video games, TV shows, movies, board games...
Weekend Confirmed. All things video game related.

Screenshots:


Linkage:
My screenshots for Downcast here.
Available via iTunes here.
Downcast website here.

Price: $1.99