DoggCatcher - I listen to podcasts these days more than I do the radio. In fact, I listen to about 10 of them on a weekly basis. I never really was an iPod guy even before smartphones took off. My wife bought me a classic iPod 20GB years ago and I hardly ever used it because I hate iTunes. And when smartphones took off I used the USB storage on them to download and listen to my music. Without iTunes to listen to these podcasts I need an app to download and manage all of these shows. To do that I have tried (and bought) a few of them but I have ended up sticking with DoggCatcher.
Doggcatcher has most of the basic features that all podcast players have, audio options, video options and the ability to schedule downloads. In addition to that, it also has some features that set it apart. With DoggCatcher you can download video podcasts and play them as audio only if you prefer. This is a feature I have found useful when wanting to listen to a podcast while working in the yard. If you lock the screen on video playing in Android it stops the video. So by listening to the audio only I can save my battery by turning off the screen. The app even resumes you to the same spot you were at if you were listening to audio and switch back to video. Because it offers this feature I have started downloading all of the podcasts that I listen to as the video versions. It is nice to have the option.
Another big selling point to DC is the ability to find podcasts. I typically add shows to my Google Reader list and DoggCatcher let's me pull them in from there. Since many shows have websites with the different services and Google Reader is normally one of them it makes finding the show on the phone or tablet much easier. But the built in list of shows is impressive. There are a lot of shows listed and the search function works well too.
There is a sleep timer and backup/restore function in the settings. I like that it will backup my settings so that I do not lose them between rom flashes. There are tons of options in the preferences. You can set global settings and per feed settings. I have mine setup to download 2 episodes of each show and purge the oldest one as the newer shows come in. I have some shows set to keep up to 4 shows since they are shorter and updated more frequently. As shows are viewed it also removes them from the list. All of this is customizable. You can specify alternate audio or video players if you prefer to use something other than the stock ones. There are download settings, storage preferences and so much more.
The main screen where the shows are listed has a row of controls (Play, FF, REW...) at the bottom for the audio feeds. The buttons are decent sized but not as large as the CarCast player. But the controls are large enough that you won't have to fumble around with them in the car too much taking your eyes off the road. To play video does seem to take more concentration. You have to click the small Video option then the shows are listed. You click on the title and they start. I typically start a show before I start driving. To get to another show after one finishes is easier. Still not the safest option but it is not too bad once you are familiar with the app layout.
I have my DoggCatcher download at night and once during the day. You can specify all of this and if you prefer it can be set to only download over wifi. With most video shows running 300-500MB it is an easy way to run over your data caps on your "unlimited" data plans. Setting the wifi only option will save you. I guess one of the things I like about this app is that I don't have to think about it. The shows just download and are ready for me when I want them.
The app costs $4.99 but if you really want to listen to podcasts and don't want to have to manage and think about downloading it is worth the cost. Get the trial version to get started and see if it is right for you.
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