Pocket Casts for Android gets some layout issues and auto cleanup bug fixed.

My daily commutes to and from work would be stressful without my daily intake of podcasts and that is not because of the bad traffic or that the bus experience is awful. Neither of that. The issue is that they broadcast local radio to make the travelers experience comfy. That’s not the case for me as local radios are probably the worst listening experience on this island. Podcasts help me keep my sanity by blocking these stressful radio waves from reaching my brain. Enter Pocket Casts, my all-time favorite podcast app for Android. 

Pocket Casts is a cross-platform podcast app that is very popular on Android. I’m not saying that the app is perfect to the point of being bug free. Today’s update does not introduce anything new, but some fixes instead and raises the app version to 6.4.7.

Here’s what are the fixes in this release:

·       Fixed some layout issues for Chrome OS and Android when using split screen. Our app should now look more graceful (if that’s even possible) when resized to your weird and wonderful tastes.

·       Fixed a bug with auto cleanup where in some cases it wouldn’t delete played files. Cheeky little bugger.

·       Chromecast updates which should fix some issues people have reported.

I’ve said time and again in each of my posts about Pocket Casts that it offers the best podcast experience on mobile devices. I currently use it on Android and Windows Mobile (Yeah, I know what you’re thinking about the latter). Pocket Casts is not free and costs $3.99, but is well worth the money. Check it out in Google Play Store.

Pocket Casts for Android now lets you switch themes without a restart.

Pocket Casts, my favorite podcast app on Android, got updated with a minor update today, raising the version number to 6.4.6.  Before I list the change log, the developer announced some major changes in version 7.4.7, which is a big jump from today’s update. I can’t wait to see what they have in store.

In today’s update, Pocket Casts brings a new “Extra Dark OLED theme.” Dark themes make it easy on the eyes should you choose to watch a video podcast…in the dark. This is great especially if you have a partner sharing the same room or bed. While this might sound like a minor addition, it won’t necessitate a restart of the app. Currently, changing the theme is already available in the app. But doing so requires closing and re-opening the app. With this update, this is not required. The change will happen on the fly. You would think that the most popular mobile platform on earth would handle such a change easily. But no.

This update also fixes some issue with “download URLs not changing properly when the author updates them.” Picture in Picture features also gets fixed as well as chromecasting. I assume that the former is available only on Android devices that runs Android Oreo or 8.0.

The update is available for download in Google Play Store for your podcast needs.

Pocket Casts update for Android builds more hype until the version number after 6.2.9.

The good folks behind the great Pocket Casts app are currently building some hype around version 6.2.9 of their excellent podcast app for Android. And they are aware of that since the “the suspense” is killing them too and me, as a matter of fact. To keep users excited about that mysterious update, today they published version 6.2.8 to Google Play Store. The one thing I don’t get is why so much hype for what seems to be a minor update. A major update in my opinion would raise the version number to 7.0. but let’s wait and see.

Todays update adds the following features and fixes:

 New episode notifications now include Play next and Mark as played.

 Fixed some playbacks errors, especially for shows like WTF with Marc Maron. Never heckle comedians people: you'll be one that walks away with philosophical egg on your face. Trust me on this one.

Until version 6.2.9 lands, check out this update in Google Play Store and enjoy your podcasts.

Pocket Casts on Android celebrates 6.2.3rd birthday with some fixes.

Sometimes I wish I could listen to podcasts throughout the day, but I'm too busy at work to do that and my boss wouldn't be too happy about it either. With Pocket Casts being the best podcast app out there, the listening experience is made enjoyable and fun, and add to that the fact that you can control your podcasts from your wrist thanks to support for Android Wear.

Today, Shifty Jelly, the company behind Pocket Casts, is celebrating the "6.2.3rd" birthday of their popular app with a small update that brings along some fixes. The parents are very proud of their offspring as the change log shows. This change log will make you giggle. See for yourself below:

WHAT'S NEW

I mean just how fast do kids grow up these days? Our apps 6.2.3rd birthday is already here! It seems like just last week this little bundle of joy turned 6.2.2! As proud parents we'd like to announce:

- Fixed OnePlus 2 widget issues

- Fixed lock screen skip buttons on Android 4.4 phones

- Artwork flashing (no nudity allowed, sorry kids)

- Double Chromecasting notifications. You might still see the default one from Google, but you can turn that off in your phone settings.

Pocket Casts is available for purchase on Google Play Store for $3.99.

Pocket Casts for Android gets a Download Manager and more.

With the year ending, Shifty Jelly, the developer of popular podcast app Pocket Casts, has issued "one last update" for Android. As usual, Shifty Jelly published a quite humorous change log:

Belief Agnostic Gift Giver GuyGal brings you:

- A Download Manager, for you know, managing your downloads.

- The option to automatically add new episodes to Up Next (check your podcast settings)

- Fixes, lots o'fixes.

Have you been naughty or nice? Does Agnostic Gift Giver GuyGal watch you when you're sleeping? Best not to overthink these things and enjoy the break!

Shifty Jelly gets the award of the best change log and the best podcast app. Happy Holidays.

Update Pocket Casts in Google Play Store here.

TuneIn now lets you listen to podcasts offline.

TuneIn Radio app for Android is your one stop-shop to listen to your favorite radio stations online for free. The app offers over 100, 000 stations with a wide selection of choices of sports, news, music and more. TuneIn also lets you listen to your favorite podcast. And TuneIn, in version 17.0.1, now lets podcasts listeners to download episodes to listen while offline. Downloading requires Wi-Fi and will not work through data. Once downloaded, the offline episodes will be accessible from your favorites.

TuneIn is available free in Google Play Store for your listening pleasure.

Pocket Casts updated with new features & Shifty Jelly engages in reality distortion field...

Pocket Casts, my favorite podcast app on Android - and Windows Phone - was updated today. The last one was posted in April in which the team laid the groundwork for a "tastier future" and that may well be the beginning of a series of updates to bring the app to another level considering the wit they put in the change log:

Build 324! Our most exciting build yet. Chamfered edges. Thinner. Lighter. Less Ports. Improved Camera. Comes in one new colour (yeah you spell it with a 'u' America). Now hand over your money, plz. K thx bye. [Engages Reality Distortion Field].

Unfortunately, their plan to get your money did not work out as planned:

What...that didn't work? Odd it works for Apple all the time! Honestly though we fixed a truck load of things in this build, and we hope you like that it's now the best build of Pocket Casts ever, marketing be damned :)

Pocket Casts is an excellent podcast app with some nice features like the ability to sync your podcasts among your devices, whether they run Android, Windows and iOS; Add to that support for playback sync. You start listening or watching a podcast on one device and pick up where you stopped on another device. Pocket Cast is sold at $3.99 in the Google Play Store and is money well spent. Too bad they don't offer a trial.

Shifty Jelly lays "groundwork for some cool things" for future releases of Pocket Casts and Android N.

Shifty Jelly, the developer behind popular podcast app Pocket Casts for Android, seems totally unfazed by the release today of Google's own podcast app, an app that is currently available in the U.S. and Canada only. Instead Shifty Jelly has plans to make its app even cooler and this release does include some stuffs to lay the groundwork for future releases. Other than that, this update contains the following features:

• Added skip back to now playing notification.
• Reworked a lot of underlying code to prepare for a tastier future.
• New sleep timer animation.

Shifty Jelly has picked Nougat or Nutella as the possible names for the future release of Android and the team is already salivating no matter which name is picked by Google. Nougat, Nutella or an Indian dessert, the developers behind my favorite podcast app are all fired up and ready for it. That's what makes Pocket Casts a cool podcast app that can be purchased on Google Play store. Pocket Casts costs about $3 and is well worth the purchase.

Pocket Casts gets a big update with date filtering, support for Marshmallow and more.

Pocket Casts, the popular podcast app for Android, is starting the year with quite a big update. The app now lets users filter podcasts by date and adds support for Marshmallow, meaning Pocket Casts is now capable of saving app settings across devices with auto backups. Check out the full change log below. That's quite a bit of reading:

• You can now filter episodes by time. In the filter settings page there is a new option called “Released in the last” which you can set to 24 hours, 3 days, 1 week etc. We have changed the episode filters new users will have and this update will also add them to your list of filters.
• Marshmallow Auto Backup feature added so if you have app backups turned on (System Settings app -> Backup & reset) it will backup your Pocket Casts settings and database so after restoring a phone your app should look a lot more like it did.
• Switched to Marshmallow permissions. We now only have one permission that requires user approval, the storage permission. The app will only ask for permission for this if you change your storage location to a custom folder.
• Stats page data is now included in your sync account so if you reinstall they aren’t lost. The stats page is now a summary of stats across all your devices.
• Improved switching to a custom location so it picks up any existing episode files in the new location.
• Improved the search for podcast interface.
• Improved voice control. Give these a try after you have said “OK Google”
  “Listen to PODCAST NAME in Pocket Casts”
  “Listen to PLAYLIST NAME in Pocket Casts”
  “Listen to Up Next in Pocket Casts”
• New discover Nearby animation.
• Added a message for the podcast grid if you don’t have any podcasts.
• Faster podcast unsubscribe.
• Fixed issues with video player in landscape.
• Fixed mailto linking in show notes so it opens your mail client with all the fields populated.
• Fixed sync issue with very old starred episodes.
• Fixed the episode time left not updating in the list when returning to the app
• Emojis are now supporting in the show notes and episode titles.
• Lots of little fixes

Download the update in Google Play store.

Pocket Casts gets support for Subscribe on Android.

My favorite podcast app for Android got updated today and instead of writing an introductory note, I'll just post the change log as is. You will remember that Shifty Jelly has that the funniest change log in the Play Store. Check it out for yourself.

What's new in Pocket Casts 5.2.2:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the road less traveled by. It turns out that was a bad idea, that road was full of savage Koalas. Sprinting home gave me the adrenlin required to:

• add support for Subscribe on Android.
• fix a lot of small bugs.

Afterwards, I wandered lonely as a cloud and fixed an issue with Nearby and bluetooth. A note for those confused: this feature is only enabled while you have that page open. It doesn't run in the background, or beside you in a marathon.

Pocket Casts is on sale for about $4 in the Play Store and is well worth it.

TuneIn update lets you select your preferred stream bitrate.

TuneIn Radio brings the world's largest collection of radio stations to your Android device, that's over 100,000 stations for your listening pleasure with categories including songs, podcasts, shows and more. The app is also cross-platform, therefore available on Windows Phone, iOS and Windows. TuneIn also has a social touch in that you can share what you're listening with your followers and vice-versa. The Android version of the app is Android Wear friendly and works with Chromecast too.

The app was updated today with, among other features, the ability to select your preferred bitrate. Check the  full change log below and get the update in Google Play Store:

-Now you can select your preferred stream bitrate. Opt to always connect to high quality or low quality streams, when available.

-New setting lets you turn off blur on player

-New setting allows you do disable lock screen images

-Save your position in list on recordings

-Deep link fixes

-Fixes for Car Mode display

-Fix for 5-minute phone call interruption bug

-Chromecast bug fixes

-Additional bug fixes

Pocket Casts developer starts eating healthier amid app fixes & improved performance.

The developer behind my favorite podcatcher, Pocket Casts, has posted an update today and, as usual, the changelog is hilarious. Check it for yourself below:

There comes a time in every apps life, where it has to look itself in the mirror, and make the changes needed to become the app it knows it can be. That time for Pocket Casts, is today.

• Vastly improved performance of the Discover section.
• Fixed audio effects causing an episode to be cut off before it was fini.
• Started eating healthier.
• Fixed not being able to download an episode while Chromecasting.
• Switched to using honey based moisturizer.
• Fixed many other small issues and annoyances.

Pocket Casts is now at version 5.1.5 and can be purchased in Google Play Store at $3.99.

Pocket Casts lets you browse podcasts on Android Wear devices.

Pocket Casts, my favorite podcast app for Android, picked up an update today. An update that Android Wear device owners will likely appreciate as they will be able to browse Pocket Casts on their wrist. The change log does not give much details on how this feature actually works. But it does recommend buying a watch just for browsing your podcasts. It would have been awesome if Shifty Jelly had bundled a watch with that update for folks like me who do not own one - the Microsoft Band I own is not a smartwatch but more of a fitness band.

This update brings Pocket Casts to version 5.1.3. Here's what's new:

We're back! Did you miss us? We kinda missed you a bit. We did have a shiny Material Design Award to keep us company though, so you know, it wasn't all bad. We've stopped fondling it (don't judge us, you would have too!) for long enough to bring you all an update!

If you love browsing, and you love Pocket Casts, you'll love browsing Pocket Casts on your Android Wear device! It's worth buying one just for this. Do it.

This release has plenty of fixes in it too, because we know you love those.

Source: Google Play

Pocket Casts receives major upgrade; Adds Volume Boost and Silence Removal.

My favorite podcast app for Android picked up a major upgrade today. Pocket Casts is the coolest podcast app I know and use. Like wine, the app gets better with time. This update to version 5.0 brings two new features that any podcast listeners will love: Volume Boost and Silence removal.

Volume Boost is simply awesome and is unique to Pocket Casts. How many times have you jumped when a loud notification would interrupt your listening experience through your headsets? It always happens to me when commuting, accompanied by the annoyed looks of those around me. Pocket Casts fixes that with Volume Boost which lets you listen to podcast as loud as you want without increasing the device volume. Isn't that cool?

Silence Removal is another feature that will make the listening experience very interesting especially if time is short. As its name implies, Silence Removal will remove pauses in your podcasts so you can listen more in less time.

See the full changelog below for the other changes in this major update:

• Material Design! We agonised over jokes/puns using the word 'material' for hours, but in the end we spared you. I still have 'Material Girl' playing on loop in my head though :(
• Swipe episodes to mark as played/unplayed. Viva la revolución!
• New Audio effects: Volume Boost and Silence Removal. If you can't guess what the first one does then you're beyond help.
• Up Next list now in your mini player, swipe across to see what's coming up and quickly add more.

Download Pocket Casts for free on Google Play store.

Pocket Casts gets Chromecast support, pending Google approval.

I received my Chromecast this week after almost a month wait. We all remember how fast the $35 dongle sold out shortly after its announcement during Google IO. It was well worth the wait anyway. It's so much fun to instantly launch a karaoke from my phone or watch whatever YouTube has to offer. As of now only Youtube, Netflix and Chrome browser supports Chromecast. It should not take long to see other apps take advantage of it.

Coincidentally one of the first to add Chromecast suport to its app is ShiftyJelly's Pocket Casts, an app I use for my podcast consumption and one that I recommend. Pocket Casts published an update that adds Chromecast support. The thing is, the new feature is not activated yet as it seems it has not got Google's blessing. I don't know how that works, but it seems that the folks at Mountain View have to have their say into which app gets to support Chromecast or not. No matter what, I hope this is not one of these long corporate procedures.

Besides announcing the Chrome cast support into Pocket Casts, the update also contains a bunch of new features. See the change log:

What's New

v4.3

- Need for Speed 5, Android Drift: faster podcast grid, faster playlists, faster everything

- Auto download added for podcasts :)

- Quickly blow away boring episodes with our bulk delete feature (long press on an episode to enter)

- Fancy Pants Official Google side menu thing

- Bug fixes. Didn't see that one coming, did you!

- Chrome Cast support: we can't ship it until Google lets us. Residents of Mountain View: go poke some Googlers for us.

Source: Google Play Store