Shifty Jelly, makers of superior podcast app Pocket Casts, have taken the wraps off a web-based version of their service. For those who signed up to gain early access to the beta, invites are now being sent around.
The interface is consistent with their Android app and syncs with your existing Pocket Casts account. Your list of podcasts is automagically populated in the web interface, and the sync works extremely well between your mobile device and the web app. I’ve tested this listening to a podcast en route to work, then picking up where I left off on the web app.
As you’d expect when something like this goes “public” with a beta, there’s a few things that aren’t quite right or missing compared to their mobile apps. There are a few minor playback issues which the team at Shifty Jelly are aware of through the Alpha Testing group, the playback speed alteration which I use on my phone is missing from the web app (there’s plans to introduce it though). The ease of adding a new podcast to your subscription list is a good counter balance to these minor aggravations.
If this is starting to sound like something you might like to play with , you can sign up for access to the beta here: https://play.pocketcasts.com/register/beta and longer term if you like the look of the Web App and want to have access once the beta has finished it will cost you a once off $9.00 fee.
If you’re a podcast listener who sits in front of a PC all day, this is something that’s definitely worth the time investment to check out the functionality.
Will you jump on the Pocket Casts Web App? Let us know what would make it a must have for you.
