Let’s face it: RSS is a terribly nerdy wasteland of .xml feeds and weird formatting. Reeder is the shining hope that it doesn’t have to be that way. Already our favorite RSS app on iOS, it’s finally available for Mac. More »
The Downcast podcast catcher does what the iPhone (and iPad) should do already
ICloud SchmiCloud. Apple’s new non-syncing sync service might already let us iOS users get new apps and books and — in the future music — pushed to our devices, but it still doesn’t push podcasts. As these are likely the most often updated things on our iPhones and iPads, it’s an annoying oversight.
There are several iOS apps that will grab podcasts directly to your device, but Downcast is the first I have found that has a great interface, and works on both the iPad and the iPhone.
To use the app, you first have to tell it which podcasts to watch out for. This can be done from a built-in directory, or by importing an OPML file. If you already use iTunes for podcasts, you can export this file (right click “Podcasts” in the left-hand source list, choose export and pick “OPML” as the format), put it in your Dropbox public folder and then point Downcast to that file.
In use, Downcast has almost every feature from my previous favorite, Podcaster, but without the annoyances. First, the interface is way, way cleaner and easier to use. Second, it doesn’t refuse to download episodes of the excellent VFX Show. And third, it doesn’t have tiny play/pause buttons that cause you to skip a track instead of just pausing it.
What it does have is automatic downloading (suck it, Instacast), the ability to not have the next episode auto play, a sleep timer, AirPlay support for both video and audio and — here’s the big one — gestures.
Gestures let you control playback without having to hunt down a tiny on-screen button. To play/pause, you double-tap with one finger. Swipe left or right with two fingers to skip 30 seconds back and forward, and swipe up and down to mark a podcast as listened or unlistened.
I’d ask for just one thing: the ability to sync my playback position between devices. At home I use my iPad more, but when I go out I grab my iPod Touch. Not having to find my place would be great, although I understand syncing is a tricky and expensive thing to set up.
But the best part is the price. Downcast is just $2.
Downcast product page [App Store]
See Also:
They hacked Facetime onto the iPhone 3GS, and now they’ve done it again — the iPhoneIslam team’s bringing cellular calling and texting to your jailbroken iPad 3G. We haven’t been able to test it for ourselves quite yet, but the new PhoneIt-iPad app should be available through the team’s Cydia repository right now, and it’ll cost $20 to bring out the full potential of your slate. And with that, it’s only a matter of time before iPad sidetalking becomes a meme.
PhoneIt-iPad available via Cydia now, claims it’ll turn your iPad 3G into a phone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 04:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
@iTarek (Twitter) | 
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iPhone rides Atlantis into space, where no one can hear its ringtone scream originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink VentureBeat | Odyssey Space Research | Email this | Comments
Google has already made some tough moves to tackle fragmentation, but it’s clearly still wary of the problem. It’s just tweaked the Android Market web store to show users which apps are compatible with which of their gadgets. Of course, compatibility screening was already in place for users who accessed the Market from within their device, but this update should still be of use to those who surf the web store, especially if they’re rocking multiple handsets or a phone-plus-tablet combo.
Android Market web store now checks which apps are compatible with your devices originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Microsoft’s App Guy has quite a job on his baby-soft hands: to boost Windows Phone 7’s numerically-challenged Marketplace by encouraging developers to port apps across from other platforms. The little fellow helped iPhone devs out a couple of months ago with an API mapping tool to make it easier to translate iPhone APIs to WP7 code. Now he’s extended the mapping tool to work with Android APIs too, and backed it up with a 90-page white paper and a promise to get more involved in developer forums. Will the App Guy’s efforts unleash a flood of new apps for Windows Phone? We don’t know, but we dig his shorts.
Microsoft releases Android developer poaching package for Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Here’s a little tip for app developers: encrypt everything, especially passwords. Security firm viaForensics fed some popular iPhone and Android apps through its appWatchdog tool and found that Netflix, LinkedIn, and Foursquare all stored account passwords unencrypted. Since the results were first published on the 6th, Foursquare has updated its app to obscure users’ passwords, but other data (such as search history) is still vulnerable. While those three were the worst offenders, other apps also earned a big fat “fail,” such as the iOS edition of Square which stores signatures, transaction amounts, and the last four digits of credit card numbers unencrypted. Most of this data would take some effort to steal, but it’s not impossible for a bunch of ne’er-do-wells to create a piece malware that can harvest it. Let’s just hope Netflix and LinkedIn patch this hole quickly — last thing we need is someone discovering our secret obsession with Meg Ryan movies.
Netflix, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and Square apps expose your data originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 19:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Wall Street Journal | viaForensics | Email this | Comments
Dinosaurs in any shape, size or form are freaking magical. I don’t care if you’re talking about T-Rex or the little critters, I love them all. Dinosaur Zoo is an interactive encyclopedia-type app that lets you see dinos in their natural habitat—attacking, eating and dumping on your command. More »
[Thanks, Chris]
Zach Honig contributed to this report.
Apple iCloud brings previously purchased apps back from the dead originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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In a move that’s bound to get at least a few MADD moms smiling, Apple’s officially decided to block apps that encourage drunk driving. Section 22.8 of the newly revised App Store Review Guidelines reads:
Apps which contain DUI checkpoints that are not published by law enforcement agencies, or encourage and enable drunk driving, will be rejected.
That revision comes on the heels of a request from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, asking that Google, Apple, and RIM yank offending apps from their respective mobile outlets. At the time, Google declined while RIM was quick to jump on the bandwagon, leaving Apple to stew. For now, it looks like the rest of us still have to keep our eyes out for Android users with a propensity for boozing and skirting the fuzz.
Apple to drop DUI checkpoint apps like a bad habit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 07:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Autoblog | Apple | Email this | Comments
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