Best Podcast App, Pocket Casts
In the process of building a business I have been trying to consume as much information as possible to help me on my adventure. I have been consuming books, videos, and of course podcasts. Podcasts can be a great way to consume media when you are on the go, or doing something else that doesn’t require your full attention. But while trying to consume all this information I realized that there are a lot of options, some better than others. Which are your best choices on iOS and Android? Which is your best choice on Mac and Windows? I scoured the respective app stores to find the best, my choice above all others is Pocket Casts.
Podcasts have been so influential because they are mobile; most people listen to podcasts while commuting, traveling, or exercising. In my opinion, having a podcast app that is great on mobile is even more important than desktop.
Mobile
A mobile podcast app must have an easy way to search for new podcasts, syncing, streaming, and download options. iOS has the standard Podcast app that most people think is there only choice and it does all of these things, poorly. The app store is filled with loads, and loads of options, but only Pocket Casts has all of the necessities. Android had far less choices, and very few decent ones. The most popular is Stitcher because it the best free option, but Pocket Casts blows the code off Stitcher. Pocket Casts offers the same bells and whistles for Android as it does iOS. There is a magnificently simple user interface: filtering your media by unplayed, audio, video, downloaded, and downloading. There is a one stop podcast button, which houses all your podcasts in one place with a customizable view. The two best features of Pocket Casts are by far the ability to search/discover and stream by default. The discover feature is amazing, great recommendations. I personally do not live in a metropolitan area, service is very consistent, so streaming is my preferred method and it delivers a great experience.
Desktop
What if you are on desktop? Maybe you have a long monotonous day at work, that can be filled with a good story, or a heated debate. There are not many good choices for desktop, the only decent actual app is iTunes, and it’s far from being genuinely good. If you are on desktop turn to web apps, and Pocket Casts dominates here as well. Since it is a web app there is no offline abilities, which is a given. The web app is paid like its mobile counterparts, but unlike most web apps, it is not subscription based! There is only a one time, very small cost. The experience is the same that you get from mobile, but now you can save that battery life for your commute home, or after work drinks. I am all about substituting the utility of another device I am on: if I am on the computer I want to do all my work and play on there, if on mobile I will want to do the same. Pocket Casts for the web will do just that and lack no feature from its mobile counterparts. The layout is slightly different, weighing all the pluses on the mobile apps, but it is still the best desktop solution.
Do not slow down
As you gathered, all variants of Pocket Casts is paid, but well worth the few dollars! I am not sure of the current cost, being I was an early adopter. The world is not slowing down for me, and I would like to think it is not slowing down for you either. I am trying to absorb as much information I can to keep up with this ever evolving world, and podcasts are a great way in doing so. Pocket Casts is the best experience that I have found yet. Be it on a plane, in my car, or at my day job; I will always try to absorb more. I will always find a new, more efficient way of doing so…..and of course share it with you, but for now that way is Pocket Casts.
Pocket Casts for Android
Pocket Casts for iOS
Originally published at www.mindhungry.com.
