Apple Activates Podcast Downloads in 2.2 Firmware

[MacRumors]

German blog Schimanke.com publishes new screenshots from the iPhone 2.2 firmware that reveal that Apple has activated iTunes and App Store features that will make their debut in the next iPhone update. Prior to this past week, these new features had not been fully enabled.

The new iTunes Store screenshots confirm that Apple will be delivering over-the-air downloads for both video and audio podcasts.

The screenshots also show off the new App Store category view with icons embedded. Additional 2.2 features previously revealed include the addition of Google Street View and Japanese Emoji icons.

Meanwhile, there has been no evidence of background "push" notifications which were originally promised in September. Unconfirmed whispers suggest that the Apple has delayed the push notification service due to major issues with the initial implementation.

Apple seeded Beta 2 of the 2.2 iPhone firmware to developers in late October but has given no indication when we can expect a public release.

Article Link: Apple Activates Podcast Downloads in 2.2 Firmware

[DaveTheGrey]

Very good news. Syncing Podcasts is a pain! Finally the device which is playing the podcasts can also catch them. Thanks Apple!

[atropos]

Dude, that is iTunes store..... not App Store

[tri3limited]

Originally Posted by atropos

Dude, that is iTunes store..... not App Store

Follow the linked article... there are four screenshots.

[Mishilon]

That looks more like the podcast feature has been added to the iTunes wifi store on the iPhone, rather than the app store, also iTunes looks to have had the wifi restriction removed.

[bobbleheadbob]

Good news. Anyone got a sense of when the update will be released?

[Kilamite]

This is news - the previous post was over-the-air, with the pointer at WiFi.

Using 3G for this would be awesome. Maybe not for the monthly usage though..

[andothfc]

This is brilliant news. All the hoopla over cut and paste is bandwagon jumping, if I had my choice of one new feature on the iPhone I've always said i would be over the air podcast downloads.

[stephendoc1984]

Is it just me or has the loading icon moved in this pic. Mine is to the left of the clock.

Or is this region specific?

If it has does it suggest it has been moved to make room for a push notification icon

[Chupa Chupa]

Originally Posted by andothfc

This is brilliant news. All the hoopla over cut and paste is bandwagon jumping, if I had my choice of one new feature on the iPhone I've always said i would be over the air podcast downloads.

That is the difference between people who want to use the iPhone as a toy rather than a tool. Lack of cut and paste is not "hoopla," it's a significant missing feature. While you are out there downloading podcasts some of us just want to get work done, which is made more difficult b/c there is no cut and paste.

[saturniphone]

Originally Posted by andothfc

This is brilliant news. All the hoopla over cut and paste is bandwagon jumping, if I had my choice of one new feature on the iPhone I've always said i would be over the air podcast downloads.

Cut and paste may not be important to you, but every informal poll out there doesn't put "air podcast downloads" anywhere near the top. The majority of people want dozens of features well before they wanted podcast anything.

This is just another example of Apple trying to add features that are either showy or provide a new or improved means of generating revenue. Pretty soon you'll have a "genius" playlist for the apps you download so that they can have another mode of advertising their wares. Then maybe, just maybe, when they've sold 42 billion apps we'll get wifi syncing, copy and paste, email that actually fetches when it says it will, push notifications that were promised two months ago, and the other 5 or 6 top 10 features that millions of people have voted for.

[sgibson]

This will be useless (to me) if it can't sync podcasts with your main iTunes repository. I listen on my MacBook or iPhone depending where I am and having them out of sync would be nightmare.

Come on Apple, wireless iTunes sync for music and podcasts. I know contacts and calendars won't be there because it would impact MobileMe sales, but even the Zune has had wireless sync for over a year.

[koobcamuk]

Originally Posted by sgibson

Come on Apple, wireless iTunes sync for music and podcasts. I know contacts and calendars won't be there because it would impact MobileMe sales, but even the Zune has had wireless sync for over a year.

Dude, one step at a time. Podcast notifications are one thing, but to sync entire music libraries is going to cain bandwidth and the battery.

[Yuppi]

Originally Posted by sgibson

This will be useless (to me) if it can't sync podcasts with your main iTunes repository. I listen on my MacBook or iPhone depending where I am and having them out of sync would be nightmare.

Come on Apple, wireless iTunes sync for music and podcasts. I know contacts and calendars won't be there because it would impact MobileMe sales, but even the Zune has had wireless sync for over a year.

I totally agree. Synching the music and podcasts over the air would be totally awesome. Right now I hate to put my phone on the chord just to transfer the new podcasts (seen status, played count etc..). Even when the battery is not low at all..

[Eric Isaacson]

I don't think I'll use this much but I am looking forward to the next update. Hope it is soon.

Eric

[MotelRed]

nice but - I would rather they put the effort into making the phone be able to forward a text message first...

amo2008

[BigD58]

Yay! Im pumped about this. I have been waiting for this feature for a while.

[jessica.]

Took them long enough! If this is any indication as to how far out copy/paste is ... I'm scared!

[Braindead360]

While this is a feature that I have been longing for tremendously, and I do think that this is a step in the right direction, I think that the 10mb limit on cellular is kind of degrading. I know that AT&T's network is limited, but I find that the average podcast I download runs at about 40mb-50mb. It's not a problem for people who live and work in broadband/wifi areas, but for those like me who do neither, it's sort of a tacked on feature that can't be utilized. Now if I'm not mistaken, I believe that AT&T's data cap is at 5gb a month. So basically you would have to download over a hundred of these larger podcast on a monthly basis (which is unlikely for most people) to exceed your limit. I just hope that over time AT&T will lighten up on their bandwidth restrictions, because at this point it's crippling the innovation process.

[RealEvil]

Originally Posted by Braindead360

While this is a feature that I have been longing for tremendously, and I do think that this is a step in the right direction, I think that the 10mb limit on cellular is kind of degrading. I know that AT&T's network is limited, but I find that the average podcast I download runs at about 40mb-50mb. It's not a problem for people who live and work in broadband/wifi areas, but for those like me who do neither, it's sort of a tacked on feature that can't be utilized. Now if I'm not mistaken, I believe that AT&T's data cap is at 5gb a month. So basically you would have to download over a hundred of these larger podcast on a monthly basis (which is unlikely for most people) to exceed your limit. I just hope that over time AT&T will lighten up on their bandwidth restrictions, because at this point it's crippling the innovation process.

Couldnt agree more. This is yet another Apple update that sounds great until you read the fine print I suppose the limit is a concession to the carriers but 10MB is useless. If Carriers dont want us to use the 'FREE' data on our plan, maybe they shouldnt charge so much every month.

[burningbright]

I want downloadable podcasts- my laptop HDD is smaller than my touch's capacity and if I can free up the space my laptop uses for podcasts then that's a real boon for me...

[Falkenhausen]

Any idea when 2.2 will be released?

[fleshman03]

Originally Posted by Falkenhausen

Any idea when 2.2 will be released?

Anybodies guess.

Originally Posted by burningbright

I want downloadable podcasts- my laptop HDD is smaller than my touch's capacity and if I can free up the space my laptop uses for podcasts then that's a real boon for me...

Seriously? It might be time for a new laptop.

[fleshman03]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

Apple seeded Beta 2 of the 2.2 iPhone firmware to developers in late October but has given no indication when we can expect a public release.

So what are we thinking here- sometime before Thanksgiving or Christmas?

[840quadra]

Nice to see they finally fixed this. I hope it is also enabled on the iPod touch via WIFI. This was one of the only reasons I ever jailbroke my first iPod Touch.