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The podcast gadget you have been waiting for

clxclx
edited October 2007 in Technology
Dear Mr Rym, Mr Scott and dear listeners to this fine podcast. I think I have found what you were looking for.

As some of you will recall, on several occasions Scott (more so than Rym i believe) stated that he would love a device that wouldn not only play pod casts, but also automatically download these pod casts when available without the use of a PC.

I think i found that device.

The Nokia N95
On Friday i went to buy the N95 8GB Black after work (I'm telling you I'm cursed in phone shops, the machines always break and it takes hours, but i digress) I spent some time this weekend finding out exactly what i can do and to my delight, it can do a lot.
There is a specific pod casting program already installed, so i played with it a bit.
First you can set up any of the connections to be used for this the 3G Internet, GPRS or more importantly WLAN. Then you set up things like save spot, polling frequency (so you don't kill your battery) etc. Entering feeds into the list is simple enough just like any RSS reader, following which I manually updated and it gave me the full list of 100 shows which i could manually download if i wanted.
I assumed that was it until i remembered what Scott was talking about. So I set up a feed from Dave and Joel's Fast Karate for the Gentleman remembering they release a mighty fine cast on Saturday evening/night. Not only had the feed updated with the new show when i woke on Sunday, but the show had already been downloaded for me ready to listen to :)

Sounds like the device you were after correct?
I will be testing this during the week with the GeekNights podcast to make sure it wasn't an accident or something, but i have high hopes :)

Comments

  • SailSail
    edited October 2007
    I've been needing a new phone, since mine has been falling apart. If this device is everything you say it is, then I might be sold.

    [Edit] The website says that these are the phones that have this feature:
    N73, N79, N80, N90, N91, N93, N93i, N95
    Post edited by Sail on
  • clxclx
    Well I have not been playing with it long but so far it is great. I will happily talk more about it once I have had a bit more time to play :) This post was done via the phone, only bad thing is the mouse skips the 'check spelling' button ...
  • Mr. EricMr. Eric
    How much?
  • AprecheApreche
    Yes, it has been well known for some times that the Nokia N95 is the do-all device. However, the interface on the N95 is pretty bad. While it is technologically capable of being a wireless podcatcher, phone, pda, camera, and mp3 player it is not particularly very good at anything other than being a phone and a basic pda. Also, the N95 is hideously expensive.
  • clxclx
    I tried my friends N95 before going out to buy my own, and I admit, the interface wasn't great for the original N95, however I got one of the first N95 Blacks in the store, not only does it come with 8Gb of memory, but it also has an updated interface.
    I suggest you give it a test in store or something before writing it off so easily.

    oh and yes, its is rather expensive, but I managed to get a nice contract with unlimited free land line calls and free "unlimited*" mobile Internet


    *unlimited seems to mean 120Mb these days but if you use that in a month... something may be wrong.
  • ......
    *unlimited seems to mean 120Mb these days but if you use that in a month... something may be wrong.
    What about one week of GeekNights? Last week was: 163.8 M(i)B.
  • clxclx
    If you resort to downloading a week of GeekNights via 3G/gprs you have an addiction problem.
  • AprecheApreche
    If you resort to downloading a week of GeekNights via 3G/gprs you have an addiction problem.
    Um, no. With that kind of limit, it's basically worthless. The whole point of having a wireless podcatcher is that I can keep up with my podcasts no matter where I go. With a limit like that, if I go on vacation for 4 days, I won't be able to use any more data for the rest of the month. Fail.
  • clxclx
    edited October 2007
    Em Scott... as I said, that's just MY contract... in Albion... I have wireless access where I need it, so I don't have a massive use for 3G until I use the GPS system for maps in the car when each page is only a few hundred Kb. I am quite sure you could find your own contract with a US provider that can tailor to your needs, I have heard of providers offering 1Gb per month before charging you extra for your data, is that more up your street? Not Fail.
    Post edited by clx on
  • AprecheApreche
    Em Scott... as I said, that's justMYcontract... in Albion... I have wireless access where I need it, so I don't have a massive use for 3G until I use the GPS system for maps in the car when each page is only a few hundred Kb. I am quite sure you could find your own contract with a US provider that can tailor to your needs, I have heard of providers offering 1Gb per month before charging you extra for your data, is that more up your street? Not Fail.
    They offer that, for $80 a month. Not worth it.
  • clxclx
    So are you now retracting your previous statement in one (possibly more) of your pod casts? The one that stated something like "I would pay any amount of money for a device that could sync up my pod casts where ever I went" ??
  • ......
    "I would pay any amount of money for a device that could sync up my pod casts where ever I went"
    Scott never said he would pay any amount of money on a contract for it.
  • AprecheApreche
    So are you now retracting your previous statement in one (possibly more) of your pod casts? The one that stated something like "I would pay any amount of money for a device that could sync up my pod casts where ever I went" ??
    For the device I would pay, the contract is different.
  • clxclx
    Ah, valid point, I apologies.
    I cant be sure how contracts work over there, but over here when you get a monthly contract you pay nothing for the phone and x amount per month for the "contract" which covers line rental, the amount of minuets and texts you get "free" any bonuses AND the hand set. There for the monthly bill is paying for the device.*

    You can't exactly expect a device to use some company's 3G or equivalent network as much as you like for free for life can you?

    Anyway, I was only trying to help you out by giving you my experience with this product. Personally I like it, I leave the Wireless Lan connection on when I'm in an area I know has a connection (eg. home, work, friends) and the device downloads my pod casts for me if/when they are available. And as most pod casts are released in the evening/night it will almost always be downloaded while I sleep.


    *I do realise there are contracts where you pay a low amount per month and a chunk up front, but do the maths, you end up paying MORE for that contract than you do for one where you pay nothing up front and more per month.
  • aresefaresef
    Doesn't the PSP do podcasts if it's near wi-fi (though you need to manually set up the wi-fi if it's a new AP, bah)?
  • AprecheApreche
    Doesn't the PSP do podcasts if it's near wi-fi (though you need to manually set up the wi-fi if it's a new AP, bah)?
    yes, but the PSP is huge and has to use memory sticks and shit for storage.
  • cosmicenemacosmicenema
    With a limit like that, if I go on vacation for 4 days, I won't be able to use any more data for the rest of the month. Fail.
    How often do you go on vacation someplace where there isn't free WLAN but there is 3G? I would never download a podcast over 3G but WLAN is ubiquitous enough I really am not sure I'd run into a problem.

    I would be completely happy if a device did this without the cell networks even being involved. Can't you buy this and use it as a PDA/Portable podcatcher without using it as a phone? Do you have internet on your phone now? I'm not kidding, everywhere I go there's WLAN available for me so even if I could get some 3G access, if my phone connected via WLAN I'm not sure I'd bother.
  • AprecheApreche
    Who said anything about vacation? I'm talking about walking around on the street.
  • cosmicenemacosmicenema
    Who said anything about vacation? I'm talking about walking around on the street.
    You did. I quoted you.

    Now I'm afraid I'm having trouble believing that you honestly have more trouble finding WLAN in NYC than I do in DSM. Do you really need it to update continuously? All day? I mean, I have WLAN at home and work. For me, I guess that'd be enough hours in the day to get my podcasts. So my question stands: Do you need unlimited 3G access in your perfect podcatching device?
  • AprecheApreche
    Who said anything about vacation? I'm talking about walking around on the street.
    You did. I quoted you.

    Now I'm afraid I'm having trouble believing that you honestly have more trouble finding WLAN in NYC than I do in DSM. Do you really need it to update continuously? All day? I mean, I have WLAN at home and work. For me, I guess that'd be enough hours in the day to get my podcasts. So my question stands:Do you need unlimited 3G access in your perfect podcatching device?
    It's not about updating continuously all day long. That will drain the battery like a mofo. The point is that no matter where I am at any moment in time, if I want it, I can have it. If I have to hunt around to get wifi access, even if it means walking a block out of my way, then what's the point? I don't need to be constantly connected all day long, but I do need to have the ability to connect at any random place and time I happen to want, be it in a restaurant, on the street, on vacation, on the train, etc. If I take it out of my pocket, and it doesn't connect, it is no better than the iPod I've got now.
  • cosmicenemacosmicenema
    It's not about updating continuously all day long. That will drain the battery like a mofo. The point is that no matter where I am at any moment in time, if I want it, I can have it. If I have to hunt around to get wifi access, even if it means walking a block out of my way, then what's the point? I don't need to be constantly connected all day long, but I do need to have the ability to connect at any random place and time I happen to want, be it in a restaurant, on the street, on vacation, on the train, etc. If I take it out of my pocket, and it doesn't connect, it is no better than the iPod I've got now.
    So yes. You need 3G access. I think your ultimate podcatching device has nothing to do with lacking devices, it's your issues with the cell phone industry. You cannot get you ultimate podcatching device in this country without a contract. Period.

    So stick to complaining about the cell phone industry. ~_^
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