So, there’s now a Podcasts app for iOS. It was announced for iOS6, but it’s now available for iOS5 as well.
This means a few things: one, you can now more easily stream podcasts. (You could in the more recent iOS iterations of the Music app, but it’s easier now) Downloading is no longer an issue. You just click and listen, if you’re connected. And that means that it’s easier than ever to listen to, or download, or subscribe to any and all of the Nerdist Podcast Network shows on your iPhone or iPad without the need for a third party app. No syncing necessary.
More? The Music app control for skipping back 30 seconds is now a pair of buttons to let you skip back 10 seconds or forward 30 seconds. The speed controls (oh, how listening at 2X speed frees up more time to… listen to more podcasts), the scrub bar, and a sleep timer button are now part of a player (which you get to by swiping upwards on the show icon) that looks like an old reel-to-reel tape recorder, which for some of you will be unidentifiable but for th
ose of us who are members of Teh Olds will bring warm nostalgic memories of long hours in radio production rooms wielding razor blades and carefully taping tails of magnetic tape together. Wait, that’s not a warm memory at all. Anyway, the app, if you use multiple iOS devices with the same Apple ID, will sync your listening position so you’ll be in the same place in the podcast on all devices.
And that’s basically it. For those of you who use apps like Downcast or Podcatcher or Instacast, is this enough for you to switch? For those of you used to listening to your podcasts in the Music app, is this an improvement? Comments below, guys.
I am trying to download the old episodes of The Nerdist Podcast with Apple Podcast App. I can’t get it to display any of the episodes prior to June 20, 2012 (Ghost Lube). If I go to the itunes store and download the older episodes, say “Ozzy” the episode downloads, but it is invisible in the podcast app. The only way I can locate it is via the iphone search screen. Anyone else have this problem? Or a similar one?
Whatever happened to the Nerdist app that Chris talked about a lot during early hostfuls?
Hey, I’m having trouble listening to nerdist podcasts using the podcast app… i downloaded them to my iphone, and they show up in the podcast app as downloaded, but they won’t play. i click on them and they just… sit there. Other podcasts play, but nothing from nerdist industries. Help!
I think this app is a solid first effort. I like the fast forward button. I like seeing the cover art of the podcasts I listen to. You can control individual podcasts subscription, view by, and kept episodes. The speed control is great.
I am finding it sluggish to the point of unusable. The lack of things like playlists makes it unappealing over the usual iTunes sync. I also do not like how they put all shows with The under T. So The Adam Carolla show is under T’s not A. (There is a joke there some where.)
Eventually it will be a great app but not right now.
No Android love?
Great app. Wish it would load sometime this week. Of course now I hear a Louie CK bit running through my head.
It downloaded the Epic Mealtime episode only AFTER I opened the app, then clicked on Nerdist. It saved me two whole extra taps to select/get episode. Big whoop. :-/
Although I didn’t have to wait for iTunes to try and load all 200+ RSS feeds first before saving me those two extra taps.
But app & podcast are free and enjoyable, so I’ll just shut up now.
Its a bit graphically jarring from the rest of the OS, and on my iPod touch 4th Gen some of the animations, and such are far from smooth. Though I imagine that will be smoothed out on its first update. I am disappointed that “delete” still does not delete from the device. I have been annoyed with that since getting iOS 5. The download options seem like a nice touch for more connected devices. So far its not enough for me to want to abandon the music app to use it alone for pods, but I am giving it an honest go for know at least.
A lot of people have been on Apple’s back about how much they’re using skeuomorphism. And my opinion of this app is no different. Reel-to-reel? This is just as bad as their notepad app with the lined paper, torn sheets…etc. I think we can find a more contemporary way to show the progression of an audio track in a digital space. Microsoft’s coming products have been looking pretty fresh in comparison.
I’ve had a lot of trouble subscribing to some of my favorite podcasts. You can trick it to not autoplay by clicking the “sleep timer” and setting to “When Current Episode Ends.”
Had to trick it to subscribe to some podcasts, subscribed to most with no problem seemed completely random. The playback is annoying, there currently isn’t a way to turn off autoplay so it will immediately play the next pod cast on the list whether you want it to or not.
Once you get through subscribing to the podcasts, which is more of a pain than it needs to be, it actually manages them quite well, better than other apps I’ve tried in the past. But your best option for listening is still the standard music player. Personally, I spend too much time on subways and places with spotty coverage to make streaming a possibility, so no problem there. I’d hate to not be able to listen to anything without a decent signal.
I think it could become a great addition to ios, but its not there yet. I’m a little surprised apple released it in what seems like such a rudimentary stage of development.
Agreed – it’s a nice start, but there are a few things that Instacast still do a bit better:
– the ability to skip forward/backward from the lock screen
– the ability to manually add a podcast that aren’t in the iTunes listings
Looking forward to seeing how it matures.
Personally, I enjoy Instacast. It has a great interface and you can create playlists for specific podcasts. It also lets you stream or download. This just sounds like a dumbed down version of all 3rd party podcast apps.
I’ve been using RSSRadio for my podcasts for about a year. If anything, reading about the new iOS app availability will make me go get Downcast since I hadn’t heard of it until now.
For some reason the app won’t subscribe to Comedy Bang Bang, Who Charted, or The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe. All my other pocasts were no problem. However, without those this is a no go for me.
This is lovely! But, one question remains.
Whatever happened to The Nerdist App?
I don’t like this app as much as I thought I would. I like to stream, I just don’t have the time to DL at this point, and navigating the itunes store in this app to find the podcasts I want is just clunky, and it took my work WiFi 5 minutes to download a standard 1 hour podcast. I like being in my car and knowing I can go from zero to podcast in under 20 seconds.
I mostly an app called Podbay to stream. It’s a lot simpler and cleaner, oh yeah and free. Streaming is the future, all Apple did here is come out with an outdated app they should have made 7 years ago.
If people were really still using the iTunes app for podcasts, then yes this is an improvement. But for me, one who listens to 20-30 podcasts a week, Downcast is where it’s at. In an effort to not go over my data cap each month, I prefer to DL them to my device rather than stream. Plus navigating through the many shows and finding new ones is more intuitive on Downcast. I like refreshing my feed when I wake up and the excitement of seeing a new Nerdist brand show pop up!
It’s a bit rough in 1.0 but a terrific start. Wasn’t familiar with Downcast, but after looking it up, it should be superior for the moment. Not sure it’s worth paying for Downcast now with this app out there, however.
I’m in the same boat as Simalot, and all of this news concerns me as to how it might affect my listening routine #FirstWorldProblems
I asked around a bit, and as far as I can discern, the changes will only be to the iOS iTunes App, not the “desktop” iTunes. Fingers crossed.
It looks nice, but as a Downcast user — no, I don’t see any compelling reasons to switch. Yet. I’ll keep an eye on it, but as long as Downcast does everything I need, I see no need to switch.
I’ve read conflicting reports about Apple removing Podcasts from the next version of iTunes. Has there been any announcement of how users of iPod Classic (which I use to listen to all my podcasts, including Nerdist!) or other non iOS 5/6 devices will be able to continue to get podcasts?
So far, I love the Podcast App.
It was kind of a pain in the ass to sync and DL the episodes before just using the Music App.
Thanks for the info regarding the 2x speed. I never knew about this before.
I’ve been a Downcast user for so long that I just don’t see the incentive to switch. It’s a nice feature for folks who have’t already found a better way to listed to podcasts, but Downcast is that better way for me.
It has some issues, but what first version of an app doesn’t? I like the layout and I especially like being able to subscribe IN the app for automatic downloads. As someone who was using the regular Music app before it saves me having to go sync to my computer or go into the iTunes store and find the podcast I want to download that day. So far it’s an improvement over the Music app for certain.
I have been listening to your podcast in 2x so I can… listen to more podcasts… It wasn’t until a few days ago I was listening to one in regular speed that I heard your theme song in real time. I have to say, I think I prefer it in 2x… Almost like being in power mode…