#doggcatcher

DoggCatcher is an oldie but still a goodie, presenting a robust tool for keeping your podcasts and news feeds together, all in one app. Android’s first podcatcher has got a ton of options for finding podcasts, including support for RSS feeds and a bunch of podcast directories, giving you plenty of options to find and get what you’re looking for. Highlights -New material redesign -ChromeCast and…

Looks like even Doggcatcher needs the 3rd party plugin, Presto, for variable speed playback. Looking at the reviews for Presto, it seems to be buggy. Going with the Doggcatcher and trying to get variable speed playback would cost a combined $10, just for podcasts.

Written by Drew Greene

Are you tired of listening to the same music over and over again? Overwhelmed with all the news in the blogosphere? Or maybe you're feeling down and just need a good laugh? Well, worry not, podcasts are here to help. Podcasting has been around since the nascent days of the digital music revolution. The name comes (obviously) from iPods (remember those?), and it was thanks to the iPod, and more specifically iTunes, that podcasting really took off. A podcast is basically a radio show that is distributed digitally (hence iTunes role in it's popularity). These days, there are more types and styles of podcasts, than you could possibly ever imagine. They run the gamut from comedy, to tech news, to regular news, to history lessons, to language lessons, etc. Most are free, and many are now offering videocasts of their programs as well. In this article, we will look at some different podcatchers (apps that help manage different podcast feeds). Most of these will only apply to Android users, as almost all podcasts can be found on iTunes for Apple users. In the coming weeks, we will review and recommend some of our favorite podcasts.

Listen - Google Labs version of a podcatcher. Works fairly well. Very simple interface and is very light on memory. Can be buggy at times, as most things that come from GLabs can be.

BeyondPod- My personal favorite podcatcher. Clean, easy to understand UI and the ability to schedule your podcast downloads are definite pluses. Very stable. Major drawback is the $7 price tag (although worth every penny to me.

Doggcatcher- A perennial favorite, this one offers much of the same features as BeyondPod, just with a different interface. Also $7, but most users claim it is worth every penny.

There are many more podcatchers out there, and I encourage you to find the one that best fits you. In the meantime, we leave you with our first podcast recommendation. Just follow the link!

Price: $6.99 in the Android Market.

If you're a podcast fan, Doggcatcher is a fantastic app for an Android phone.

I would argue the 3 main podcast apps for Android are: Doggcatcher, Acast, and Google Listen. I've tried all 3 on my phone (Tmobile myTouch 4g). Doggcatcher offered the best user experience. The UI is the most clear and intuitive of the 3 main contenders. The developer is responsive (I had issues with this app and my myTouch 3g and was easily able to get help troubleshooting via gmail) and created a great community for users to interact with each other and with the developer at doggcatcher.com. 

I make sure my Doggcatcher is loaded up every morning before I head out to my hour long commute to work on the train. Some of my favorite podcasts, in case you're curious are:

Buzz Out Loud

This American Life

TED Talks (vdeo)

Stuff You Should Know

Science Friday

The Moth Podcast

NPR Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me

WNYC's RadioLab

Savage Love

Onion News Network (vdeo)

Stuff They Don't Want You to Know (vdeo)

InfoMania (vdeo)

NPR Technology Podcast

OnPoint with Tom Ashbrook

NPR's On The Media

WireTap

TechStuff

Risk!