Apple Releases Dedicated iOS Podcasts App

Post by pohl » Tue, Jun 26, 2012, 10:03 PM UTC

d5tryr wrote: post #80

pohl wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I figured they were taking advertising money to fund both their work on the the app itself (which is free) and for maintaining the server infrastructure that allows them to stream quickly (which can't be cheap to them).

Which would be an appropriate arrangement of it was their content. But it isn't. Would you be willing to pay for those two products without the podcasts themselves? Of course not, the app and the servers are valuable to a consumer because of the content. If the content creators don't get a cut of that advertising money then the business model isn't fair. Not to mention that stitcher removes any editorial control over…

Post by davedelong » Tue, Jun 26, 2012, 10:20 PM UTC

siglesias wrote: post #23

Lewisham wrote: post #12

Apple's highly questionable and deeply unfortunate skeuomorphism kick continues unabated. Now we're treated to a radio dial which died out in 1995, and playing podcasts presents a reel-to-reel, which died out in god knows when. It's completely bizarre. I guess podcasts are a form of talk radio, but tying them to some ancient radio technology that anyone under the age of 18 will have never touched is mental. They're e…

I don't think it's as heavy-handed as you suggest. Most of the app's navigation is handled by tableviews and collection views. The dial that you reference is really a sideways scrollview (albeit with a material skin)--this controls a non-skeuomorphic list in an intuitive way that isn't confined to the limitations of a physical radio's interface. I'll grant that the tape deck is outdated, but it's a largely hidden lit…

Post by CubicleNinjas » Tue, Jun 26, 2012, 10:27 PM UTC

smackfu wrote: post #43

I use Downcast every day, not even as an advanced user, but just because I need to download podcasts on-the-go. This sucks in comparison. * Catalog (aka Store) is very slow and clunky. Takes 5-10 seconds to flag episodes as "Downloaded" after I click on a podcast I have episodes for. * Clicking download button takes 4-5 seconds to react. Progress of download is not shown in store, but only in Library. * No connection…

Post by siglesias » Tue, Jun 26, 2012, 10:42 PM UTC

davedelong wrote: post #83

siglesias wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's as heavy-handed as you suggest. Most of the app's navigation is handled by tableviews and collection views. The dial that you reference is really a sideways scrollview (albeit with a material skin)--this controls a non-skeuomorphic list in an intuitive way that isn't confined to the limitations of a physical radio's interface. I'll grant that the tape deck is outdated, but it's a largely hidden lit…

There's no way the Podcasts app could be using collection views, because it runs on iOS 5.

Post by MartinCron » Tue, Jun 26, 2012, 11:25 PM UTC

balac wrote: post #59

jaysonelliot wrote: post #51

I understand why Apple felt the need to create this app. The current method of managing and listening to podcasts is split between iTunes and the Music app, and holds on to old models of syncing between the computer and the iPhone / iPod. It's a mess, and that, of course, is why there are third-party apps that have been doing a better job for podcast enthusiasts. Unfortunately, this is bad news for the makers of the…

Considering the history Apple has of "absorbing" the features of popular third party apps, at this point developers should almost expect it to happen sooner or later.