How To: Listen To Podcasts On Your BlackBerry - 4 Options
One of our readers, Pei, asked me how he could listen to Podcasts on his BlackBerry. The honest answer is that so far there is no easy way to subscribe to a podcast on your BlackBerry. There are a few solutions that I will detail out below but none of them are seamless and most of them have issues. Hopefully RIM will release a new feature in Roxio to allow for Podcast subscriptions.
The only good procedure I have found so far is using Juice Receiver which is free. The second and third option I detail are fine but they require you to install devilware iTunes. The only downside with any of these is that Podcasts tend to be long so if you lose your place or want to rewind a few seconds you will be stuck with the pitiful BlackBerry media player which only allows you to move forward and back by a minute or two. This gets really annoying when you just want to rewind a few seconds and have to listen to the whole minute again.
Option 1: The simplest and free (just the way I like it 
)
Download Juice Receiver free from this link on sourceforge.net. It is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. You then subscribe to some RSS Podcast feeds and it will automatically download them. The best place I go to find Podcast feeds is at http://www.podnova.com/ which has quite an extensive collection. Juice just downloads the MP3 files but you will then need to copy them over to your BlackBerry memory card using Roxio or the Mass Storage Mode.
Option 2: May be a better option for iTunes users and is still free
If you use iTunes you may like this solution better. There is a free application called iTunes Agent that makes iTunes recognize other MP3 players. The whole idea of iTunes agent is that it makes iTunes able to synchronize with other MP3 players. This is a good way to subscribe to podcasts using iTunes and have them automatically sync with your BlackBerry. Personally I cannot test this solution since I hate iTunes but I have recommended it and installed it for a few users. I just hate all the catchy marketing speak that Apple uses such as “Smart Playlists.” What exactly is so smart about a playlist? Mac users are out of luck on this one because it is Windows only. I am surprised that Mac is not suing iTunes Agent for having an “i” in their name.
Option 3: This is just for the iTunes user who does not want to install anything
This solution is the same as the one above it just does not include using iTunes Agent. You can just subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes and then when it is downloaded you right click on the file and select the “show in Windows Explorer” option. You then copy the file over to your Berry and you are done.
Option 4: This option is not recommended at all unless you are a sucker for pain and suffering at the hands of terrible applications.
If you are a glutton for punishment you can try out the one Podcast player available for BlackBerry. It is called AudioBay and comes highly un-recommended. You can see many posts and reviews of just how bad this software is so don’t say I did not warn you. Seriously think twice before even installing it. AudioBay is available here on Handango for $14.95 but I have yet to hear back from anybody if it has given them anything other than constant heartache. You can even read the reviews on Handango about how it does not work. I am only mentioning it because I know other people are going to ask about it. If you really want to see what kind of pain and suffering it causes you can read this thread on BlackBerryForums.
Maybe one day Viigo will offer some sort of Podcast functionality? Once again I find myself dreaming big
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December 14th, 2007 10:50
[...] Very good article from Berry Review that gives you 4 ways to listen to pod cast from your blackberry… [...]
December 14th, 2007 19:43
There is no Juice receiver for Linux. They have been promising it for at least 7 months (the last time I had checked), but it ain’t ready yet.
.
Why am I not surprised? Grumble.
December 15th, 2007 17:42
Luc,
I was under the impression that there was a beta floating around somewhere. I have not had any luck finding it since i just read your comment. I guess your right the Linux version of Juice is just vaporware for now. It surprising they did Mac before Linux…
December 16th, 2007 08:04
I have to say, I downloaded and installed Audiobay last week. Granted, I had my points on Handango and a discount that applied and ultimately paid about $3.95 for it, so it was worth the risk. But, I’m quite satisfied with it. The ability to enter custom rss feeds, download to my SD card and go back later to browse the downloaded ones, are well implemented features. Maybe my tastes are simple, but he fact that I can download OTA (with various options - everything from BIS to WiFi) is what sold me on this. I have a Curve and it works quite nicely. I read the thread linked to the blackberry forums, those seem to be older posts. The version I installed around the 8th.
By far, the cincher is that I can use bluetooth audio. Not just from stereo headphones - but from an earpiece, the regular kind you use for phone conversations. OF all the programs I have, this is the only one that works consistently each and every time int he output method I choose.
I’d recommend audiobay, but then again, maybe my taste is simple…
December 17th, 2007 11:23
[...] 11:23 AM Reinor, These are the 4 ways I have found so far… How To: Listen To Podcasts On Your BlackBerry - 4 Options | BerryReview Hopefully RIM will address this in a new version of Roxio or a new media player Check out [...]
December 17th, 2007 16:23
[...] berryreview.com)特地為了我寫了 “How To: Listen To Podcasts On Your BlackBerry - 4 Options” [...]
December 17th, 2007 16:29
Hello Ronen,
as you saw above, I translated this post into Chinese. Thank you for your kindly help!
December 17th, 2007 16:39
Glad I could help Pei!
December 17th, 2007 17:18
El Jefe,
Now I am going to have to put audiobay through its paces. Let me see if I can get in contact with the developer…
December 20th, 2007 00:50
PodNova has (free) download clients as well which synchronize to mobile devices:
http://www.podnova.com/subscriptions/download/
(there’s also a linux version available)
December 20th, 2007 09:46
Thanks for the tip Robin I will try to post about it
December 20th, 2007 16:04
[...] writing the article on how to listen to Podcasts on your BlackBerry I had Robin of PodNova bring to my attention that I had missed another free desktop client. The [...]
January 21st, 2008 12:04
[...] work-around until something better comes around. This information came from Ronen Halevy, from BerryReview.com, who outlined four ways of listening to a podcast on a BlackBerry. As Ronen is right to point out, [...]
March 5th, 2008 18:40
Has anyone tried using the portable version of Juice? Theoretically, you wouldn’t have to mess with moving all those audio files–they would be automatically downloaded into folders located on the Blackberry’s memory card.
The URL for Juice portable (in development though) is: http://portableapps.com/node/10643
I personally can’t test this since I don’t have a memory card for my Blackberry yet.
July 23rd, 2008 23:09
I download directly from the websites, the mp3 podcasts.
On my BB Curve, I have Opera Mini. With that, I just pick
on the mp3 file icon, go to select, then save to sd card. I
love it. Its a manual download. That’s the way I like it.
Sprint’s EVDO will download a 10mb file in approx. 8 min.
10mb is 45 min. of listening.
July 24th, 2008 06:25
It’s ok that you hate iTunes, but FYI ’smart playlists’ are different from playlists in that they’re dynamic as opposed to the static playlists your familiar with. for example I rate all my music and this allows me to create rules that auto populate playlists, such as most recently played, favorite electronic, unplayed songs, or recently added. It’s a very cool and powerful feature, that, plus podcasts, plus album art feature, moved me there from windows media player and ipodder