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+--- Thread: DoggCatcher and TuneIn for podcasts/radio streams (Android/iOS) (/thread-9612.html)
DoggCatcher and TuneIn for podcasts/radio streams (Android/iOS) - rich_f - 2012-06-14
tl;dr: DoggCatcher blows Google Listen out of the water, I love it for podcasts. TuneIn is a great little radio stream player for both Android/iOS. Drop a few bucks on both.
I just started using both of these apps, and I have to say that I really like both of them, especially for Japanese and other foreign language study. I figured I'd mention them for those who are looking for something to use for language study on their Android phones (and iOS, too. At least I know there's an iOS version of TuneIn. Not so sure about DoggCatcher.)
DoggCatcher is a podcast/RSS downloader/manager for Android. It supports all sorts of RSS or XML feeds, including password-protected feeds. (This bit is useful if you use one of the Innovative Language Learning sites' members-only feeds. So incredibly useful, that you don't need iTunes.)
DoggCatcher has a *lot* of customizable features, so it really pays to read the fine manual. For example, I was finding that it and Google Music were fighting over access to external controllers and widgets. DC was hijacking my Pure Music player widget, and it was bugging me. Turns out you can turn that off in settings, which I learned in the fine manual.
DC runs about $5 in the Google Play store. I use it for JapanesePod101 feeds as well as RFI's News in Easy French RSS Feed, among others. The interface is a little cluttered and messy, but once you figure it out, it's really quite useful. Note that it's easy to fill up your storage quickly. Make sure you clean it up on a regular basis.
Coming from Google Listen, which is just horrible, the difference is like night and day.
TuneIn is something I got into thanks to using my Logitech Squeezebox. TuneIn provides a lot of the broadcast stream info for the Squeezebox. It's a free service. The app comes in a Pro version that allows for recording from streams, and runs about $4 on Google Play, and $1 on iTunes. (Yeah, yeah.)
The TuneIn Pro app is roughly the same on both iOS and Android. It's a little easier to use on iOS. For example, in Android, to mark a station as a favorite, I usually have to start up the stream. iOS has a feature that lets you add without listening. (I noticed this as my sibling and I both used the app on our Android/iOS devices simultaneously.)
You need to sign up for a login/username, but you can do it from within the app. I sync this login with my Squeezebox as well. Makes it useful when I discover something I like on one device, and want to port it over to other devices.
I generally like this for listening to all kinds of stations from all over the world. They have a small selection of Japanese stations, but they're there. Just not the big ones, like TBS, etc.
Not every podcast/stream can be favorited in TuneIn, and I don't know why. For example, RFI's News in Easy French just won't go into my presets. So I use DC for it.
DoggCatcher and TuneIn for podcasts/radio streams (Android/iOS) - ファブリス - 2012-06-14
Hah thanks for the reminder, I didn't even think about looking up Japanese streams in TuneIn Radio.