Ultra Podcast Player for BlackBerry

* Note - Appears to be working well for some, not well for others. Check out the full post and comments before trying. *

Good news for BlackBerry owners + Podcast listeners... there's a new podcast app to try! Developed by quotronics, the Ultra Podcast Player for BlackBerry puts thousands of podcasts and millions of episodes right at your fingertips.

Ultra Podcast Player for BlackBerry features include:

  • Ability to search from a library of thousands of podcasts
  • Automatic downloading using WiFi
  • Ability to download podcasts in the background.
  • One click playback using the Blackberry Media Player.
  • Changeable Colour Scheme UI.
  • Intuitive and easy to use
  • Easy to install & upgrade
  • Support for touch screen navigation

One of the ironic issues with our CrackBerry Podcast is that because Craig and I always ramble on for an hour or more that the episode files tend to have a big file size (~35 - 45 megs), making them a pain in the butt to download and listen to directly on the BlackBerry. However, I just installed the Ultra Podcast Player on my 8900, searched for "CrackBerry", subscribed to the CrackBerry.com Podcast channel and downloaded our latest episode over WiFi. Within literally three minutes I was listening to a show. I haven't tried it on my Storm yet, but the features state support for touch screen navigation. If only RIM would build this functionality into the native Media Player I'd be so happy. [Update: Trying to use this app without WiFi is not nearly as painless - trying to download CB podcast and others on Storm produces errors - when oh when will those download limits get lifted?! And why can't WiFi just be on every single BlackBerry?! ]. 

Note: OS 4.3+ is required and it's still early days for this app, so there *could* be bugs. If you give Ultra Podcast Player a go, be sure to drop your feedback in the comments. 

** Pricing - The developer has us a little confused on this one for the time being - I downloaded it directly from the developer's site thinking it was free app but now it also appears the developer has put Ultra Podcast Player up for sale @ $4.99.  Likely the free version I downloaded is a trial and will expire, but I'll look to get clarification on that from the dev. As a free app you can never go wrong even if it's not *perfect*, but if you're shelling out $$ you should definitely try PodTrapper first too before buying either. You can read our PodTrapper review here.

** Pricing Update - The free version is available for download from their website. It's got full functionality but is limited to two podcast subscriptions at a time. The paid version has no limits. *

For more information, visit www.ultrapodcastplayer.com. To download on your BlackBerry, visit http://www.ultrapodcastplayer.com/device/lite/index.php from your device browser.  

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