Hasta La Gadget!

Instacast now syncs everything, including your play position, between iOS devices

ICloud, schmiCloud, right? Who cares about syncing boring old word processor documents anyway? But why not take a quick look at what iCloud can really do when developers add its syncing magic to their own apps?

Instacast is a slick podcast app for the iiPhone. Instead of having to wait for your computer to download new podcasts, and then sync them to your iPhone, apps like Instacast download them directly. I used to use Instacast on my iPod Touch, but stopped as there was no iPad version, and in its early days it wouldn’t automatically download new shows.

Instacast still only works on the iPhone and iPod Touch, but it now uses iCloud to sync pretty much everything. It syncs your subscription list between devices, it shares which episodes you have played already, and syncs your current track and playback position.

Thus, if you leave off listening on one device, you can grab another and keep listening where you left off.

This is neat stuff, marred only by the fact that Instacast isn’t a universal app. I can imagine walking into my apartment whilst listening to the latest Gadget Lab podcast, and then continuing to listen on my iPad, which is already hooked up to a speaker. At the very least, you now have an iCloud back up of your subscriptions, including details of what you already listened to.

This kind of thing will only get more common as developers figure out ways to use iCloud. The simplest thing will be keeping your scores and progress in sync between your various instances of Angry Birds. Who knows where else it will go? Instacast is $2, available now.

Instacast and iCloud [Vemedio via Mac Stories]

Instacast product page [iTunes]

See Also:

• Podcast
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• Slick Up Your Podcasts With Sony Recorder