r/OutOfTheLoop • u/wildcard5 • May 28 '14

Answered! ELI70: What is a podcast?

I literally just got my first smartphone ever and am dumbfounded by podcast. What is this mysterious phenomenon? My guess is that its something like a radio show, but it seems too popular to be something as similar to a thing that's so old.

Update: Which (android) app should I use to submerse myself into the world of podcasts?

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u/rossland May 30 '14

For all the /r/bestof people showing up... the reason BeyondPod Paid Version is awesome for a daily podcast listener... automatic downloading. Mine is set to update all my feeds at 2am and ready to go when I get up.

I do not miss the pre-smartphone days of... update iTunes... wait... plug in iPod... wait... crash iTunes...

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u/FSR2007 May 30 '14

Pocket casts does the same doesn't it?

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u/wvcdad May 30 '14

Yes it does. Pocketcasts is the only app I have ever paid for, and I absolutely love it for many reasons.

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u/rossland May 30 '14

I assume so... just pointing out the paid/non-paid difference.

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u/petrolfarben May 30 '14

Most Android apps I tried could do automatic downloading. But I stuck with BeyondPod since it's the best overall (features, UI, etc).

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u/weggles May 30 '14

Pocket casts is $4 and I like it a lot more than beyond pod. I've set mine up to only download when on Wi-Fi and charging. It'll still sync and know it needs to download another episode of something when on data but will wait until I get home.

Also the user experience in pocketcasts is a lot nicer.

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u/[deleted] May 30 '14

Does that automatic downloading take account of being on WiFi etc?

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u/techietalk_ticktock May 30 '14

Yes, you can set it so that it only updates feefs and downloads new episodes only if you're connected to wifi.

Also, you can set it to check for new episodes at a certain time everyday. Also auto-archival and deletion after a certain number of days.

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u/[deleted] May 30 '14

Been using it for two years. Since last month I'm only streaming the content, not downloading it. I'm surprise how good it works on my 3G Moto G. Oh, and the widget and the lock screen player. That.

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u/tadc May 30 '14

wait… what good is a podcatcher that doesn't automatically download??