Although Apple wants you to believe you can just cut from the cord. It is that easy. While I am testing out iOS 5 right now. The cord is not really cut. You can sync wirelessly with the cloud. There has always been one thing that gets in the way each time I try to walk away from iTunes for good. My beloved podcast subscriptions do not automatically download to my device. Truth be told I would be fine syncing just once a week if my podcast did not have to be updated every night to get the new one.
In comes DownCast. This little app does just what you want it to do. You can download all your podcast right away in background while you do all your other work. You can do this over wi-fi or 3G network. One of the best features that they have is that you can stream while you are downloading. This saves a lot of time for doing other things because it will play while you are on another app. Something I wish the video app in iOS would do on its own. What it does have is automatic downloading (suck it, Instacast), the ability to not have the next episode auto play, a sleep timer, AirPlay support for both video and audio and — here’s the big one — gestures.
Gestures let you control playback without having to hunt down a tiny on-screen button. To play/pause, you double-tap with one finger. Swipe left or right with two fingers to skip 30 seconds back and forward, and swipe up and down to mark a podcast as listened or unlisted.
The podcast list can be searched for, added manually using the address of the podcast or using a list of Top Podcast. The to the list of Top Podcast is large. Every podcast I was looking for was on this list. This is a great app that you readers have said I should review. I now know why this app is a must download for anyone that really wants to break away from iTunes and not have to stress about updating their podcast.
Pro: The app does just what it says it will do. To the point,easy to use and reliable. Works on iPhone & iPad. It has a sleep timer, AirPlay (video & audio), The interface is clean and easy to use. Bonus it works on iOS 5 out of the box with no issues.
Con: The con is that while it will play in the background while on other apps. You have to leave the app before the video starts. If you let the video start than leave the app. The video will stop. So, one of the things I like about the app seems to be a bug. I hope they don’t fix it on future updates.
Cost: $2
Aye/Nay: This is a Aye. This program has been moved to my home screen. It’s that good. $2 is worth it.
iTunes Link: DownCast
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