I spend a lot of time in my car.  And I need something to take my thoughts off the mind numbingly boring drive I have to make every day…so naturally, I turned to podcasts.  Not only do I host and produce a podcast for Silicon Theory, but I do enjoy and listen to others as well.  I originally got into the format using my loaner iPhone and though the podcasts app for iOS is fine, its not nearly as robust and fully featured as you might expect in a product from Apple.  So I went on the search for something that would 1) work on the Android platform 2) have a few more perks than what I’d been using.  And after a bit of searching (and lurking on message boards in various places) I came across the app Pocketcasts.  And I couldn’t be happier I did.

My custom playlist

Podcasts, podcasts, podcasts.  I listen to a lot of them (sort of) – I really enjoy it.  So having a great podcast app is very important to me.  PocketCasts is a paid app available for $3.99 in the Google Play store.  And for me, it’s worth every penny.  I don’t often pay for apps, especially if there isn’t a trial period or a way to try before you buy.  But I spent a bunch of time on the web getting other frequent podcast listeners opinions and PocketCasts seemed to be the clear winner every time.  And its easy to see why.

My Up Next list

The main interface allows you to discover new podcasts, or add the ones you want to listen to.  From the list of those you’ve added, you can display by large or small icons, sort alphabetical, episode release date, or just a drag and drop to create your own custom list.  There are unread count badges to help you keep track of how many episodes are left and you can also share your list of podcasts or send the audio to the Chromecast connected device of your choice right from the home screen as well.

Once you are ready to play, you have options to either stream or download by default, which is great for those who are conscious of their data usage.  You can add multiple podcast episodes to the queue of “Up Next” making it easy to create a custom playlist to keep the audio going for as long as you want to.  The player has a mini strip on the bottom that displays the icons of what’s up next, and you can scroll thru it at a glance to check what’s on your list right without leaving the play screen.

The player UI

While playing you can set options for audio playback like skipping silence or speed of playback to get thru things quicker (if you’re in a rush or short on time or just impatient) and also sleep options including a timer from 5 minutes to an hour, or at the end of the currently playing episode.  You can skip forward 30 seconds or jump back 10 during playback to skip ahead or past ads (not that I’m against monetizing podcasts mind you) if you prefer.  These times are customizable as well, so if you want to do 10 forward and 30 back, PocketCasts has got you.

The discover tab is a great way to get you started in the wonderful world of podcasting.  Featured pods are shown up front, or you can search trending – top – nearby – networks – or categories.  Or you can always just search for a keyword.  Shifty Jelly (the makers of PocketCasts) clearly enjoy the work they do on this app, and it shows.  Their timely updates always contain a bit of humor with the useful information and who can’t use a bit more comic relief in their life?  For all these reasons, I love PocketCasts and paid for the app.  You should too.