Tried Pocket Casts App...Love it!

A few weeks back I blogged about my dissatisfaction with the "updated" podcast player through iOS. I didn't realize I was far from the only one feeling this way. I got a lot of feedback from others going through the same frustrations.

I think many of them had stopped listening to, or at least reduced their listening of, many podcasts. But one person who agreed with me offered a solution.

It came from Craig:

CRAIG: I paid $2-3 for the Pocket Casts premium version two years ago, and I've never even felt tempted to try another app.

I looked it up. It costs more than a few bucks now, but not too bad. I downloaded it and I've been happy with my purchase ever since. 

Today I listened to more podcasts than I have in the past month. I don't know if I'm all the way back--I think I listened to too many before (it is possible, you know...). But I've re-discovered the joy of listening to them. And since Craig has been pleased with the Pocket Casts app for two years, chances are I'm going to have the same experience. 

Thank You Whoever Re-Designed The iPhone Podcast App...You Basically Killed My Desire To Listen Anymore

I'm usually a "if it's improved, I like it more" kind of guy. I know I like improved electronics, even though I rarely have the ability to upgrade. I like--generally--the look of new cars, new homes, new books, and meeting new friends.

But never since someone upgraded iPhone's Podcast app, I've basically stopped listening to podcasts.

I don't know if other people are like me. When it comes to podcasts, I know the ones I like and if I like it a lot, I'll listen to every single new episode. The pre-re-designed app worked very well. Sure, it wasn't flashy, but it worked. I knew at a glance which ones I hadn't listened to, which ones I had. I also could see if I perhaps didn't want to listen to a particular podcast, I could just delete it.

It made sense.

Now it doesn't.

Now, I can't see a list of all the podcasts downloaded to my phone. It shows a list of various podcasts, some I followed religiously, some I tried once or twice then discontinued. But one of the biggest beefs I have with the new design is sometimes something goes wrong with the downloads and I will have hundreds of podcasts from one source and I have to go through each one and delete it individually. It drives me batty!

For years I've listened to a dozen podcasts each week. Now, I don't even open up the app. It's sad because I enjoyed listening to podcasts, but if it's more work than just clicking on ones I want to hear--for me, at least--I've basically just stopped. Looks like I'll have to wait for the next upgrade and hope some things are different. If so, then I'll be back on the "if it's improved, I like it more" bandwagon.