Click Here to see a walkthrough demo of Nokia Podcasting
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http://www.devicescape.com

I just found out about this sweet little app and am posting the info before we've tested it on all the compatible devices. But it seems to work great on both N95 and N95 8GB, so I'm sharing it right away.

Devicescape.com works like a charm for all my "personal" WiFis APs … I setup the APs on the devicescape website and configured all my N95 Internet apps (Podcasting, Browser, etc.) to use the "Devicescape" access point by default. Whenever an app needs a connection, it auto-magically connects to the currently available WiFi - no fiddling around with settings anymore, no "Always ask"needed. Very neat ;)

Apparently it also works with commercial WiFis that require a login, but I haven't tried that, yet.

How do you do it?

1. Install the Devicescape application (http://www.devicescape.com) on the N95

2. Create an account on the devicescape website and add all the WiFis that you want to use to your profile (incl. WEP/WPA key settings, etc.)

3. Setup the Podcasting application to use the "Devicescape" access point by default

4. Now every time Podcasting needs a Internet connection it will automatically connect to the currently available WiFi network, without you having to change the settings or selecting the access point manually. This works for manual or automatic downloads.

This is especially helpful for Podcasts which have links to their website from their RSS to view/add comments or when a text enclosure requires the user to connect to a browser to view.

5. Of course, the "Devicescape" access point is available for all applications in the phone (Nokia Music Store, Browser, Maps, eMail, VoIP,, etc.)

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P.S.
I just got a comment asking if anyone is moderating this site. I get notified of every comment as its posted and often will send a personal email if there is a specific question. (as well as delete SPAM. You know who you are!) But since the scope of this blog isnt as a support site, there are some comments which are just forwarded to the development teams to evaluate the feedback for future development or bug fixes.

Just wanted to let you know that Big Brother is still watching, even if we dont always have something new to post.

Click Here to see a walkthrough demo of Nokia Podcasting
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Some podcasters are wondering why the "Content may not play on your device" warning is popping up for normal audio files. Our development team gives the answers:

The determining factor for whether or not the podcasting app displays this warning is actually not the file extension, but the mime type that is provided in the enclosure tag. (We only use the file extension for display on the UI.)

Whatever content you use, just make sure you provide a MIME type that is supported in our phones.

A complete list of Browser MIME types in Nokia GSM Devices can be found here:
http://www.forum.nokia.com/info/sw.nokia.com/id/444aa596-38d4-473c-81ed-657da920d163/Browser_MIME_Types_in_Nokia_GSM_Devices_v1_8_en.pdf.html
(look in Chapter 7 for S60 3rd edition).

One exception to this is MP4 (video and audio mp4 content). Because MP4 is a container format and we have no idea if the content within the MP4 container will be played correctly, for audio/mp4 or video/mp4 content we display the warning "might not display properly" and don't auto-download these episodes.

If your audio show is in aac format, the best MIME type would be "audio/aac" - that doesn't display any warnings.

And when creating an audio podcast specifically for a mobile audience, I would recommend to use AAC (or better yet, eAAC+) because of the smaller filesize and/or better quality at the same file size, compared to MP3.

The Nokia Music Manager from the Nokia PC Suite (download here) is able to convert your mp3 files into eAAC+.

NOTE: If you want your video podcast optimized for mobile (size, playback compatibility and no warning), use the format 3gp. (Most compatible devices are able to play frames per second (fps), newer devices like N95, N81, N93, etc can play 30 fps)

HACK!
OK....I realize you shouldnt need a workaround, but if you know your video format is compatible with the Nokia devices and you want to make sure the warning message doesnt come up, here is a way to "cheat".

If you have an MP4 video file in a format that for sure plays on our devices, you can set file extension to ".mpeg" and the mime type in the enclosure to "video/3gpp" to avoid that warning message and to allow auto-downloads ;) ... a bit hacky, but works nicely. Please note that the .mpeg extension is important, too.

Here's an example entry from an RSS feed:

Click Here to see a walkthrough demo of Nokia Podcasting
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I ran across this gem from The PodLounge while surfing the internet.

If anyone else out there is developing things that work with Nokia Podcasting, please let us know. Cool stuff like this puts a smile on my face.

From The PodLounge Forum:

For those of you with a Nokia mobile, the Nokia Podcasting Application is a real treat.

What's more - you can easily set The PodLounge to be your directory of choice for podcast searches:

Within the application go to: Options> Settings> Connection> Search Service URL and type in the following URL:

http://mobile.thepodlounge.com/nokia_search.php?q=#

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By following the above instructions, the next time you use the SEARCH feature, it will utilize ThePodLounge's directories. (Current default is from our friends at www.DigitalPodcast.com)

The ability to manually change your default Search directory is another way to personalize your mobile podcasting experience to get the content most relevant to your needs. Thanks to the PodLounge for offering this.

You can download Nokia Podcasting from the link above or click here to get detailed instructions.

Yes, it's been too long since the last update. (But I swear I've been answering just about every comment by private email. You havent been neglected or forgotten. :-) )

What's new?

Nokia will be attending the "Podcast & New Media Expo" again this year. We met a lot of fantastic and exciting Podcasters last year and got a lot of great feedback, so we're going to be out in sunny California to let everyone play with our new toys and we'll take copious notes about what you love, hate and wish for in your mobile podcasting apps.

If you want to come say hi, the date is 28-30 Sept in Ontario California at the Ontario Convention Center. Should be fun.

with that said, its also been too long since we've updated our default directories for our mobile app. So we'll be doing a minor overhaul of our RECOMMENDED and PODCAST DISCOVERY folders before then.

So in the past year, which audio and video podcasts do you find yourself listening to regularly? Who are the indie Podcast personalities or the mainstream podcast shows you cant live without? Are there certain themed folder topics that you want to see more of?

Or, if you are a podcaster who will be attending the event, be sure to let me know your Podcast Name, RSS Feed, and a note that you're coming and we'll try to get your show in a special subfolder for a limited time.

And before we start the comments, here's a little taste of something coming soon....

and in the very near future... the upcoming release of the Nseries Music Player will include the long-awaited and much requested Bookmarking feature.

(Great news... but be aware that the bookmarking is tied to the Music Player, NOT the Podcasting app. So only devices which either have the new player or have a sw update with the new player will have that feature. I know....I know... but the upcoming devices with Podcasting preinstalled should all have it.

Luckily there is now the Nokia Software Updater app up at Nokia.com, so those happy devices which take on the new player will be rocking and ready.

Just a reminder to check out the Nokia Music Podcast at our other blogspace: www.blogs.s60.com/nokiamusicpodcast

The shows are about 30-40 minutes long with full tracks, song commentaries and interviews with artists from many genres.

We started this show to try to practice what we preach... not only talk about podcasting, but also get hands on experience with all aspects of it. From the concepts, creation, distribution, etc.

It also helps to see different things which can be done in the RSS feeds to add value to the mobile podcast experience... and also the things which are a challenge. (Uh.. choosing "Go to Website" from the mobile takes me to the Music blog, but you have to scroll through a MESS of the side bars before finding the proper content. I think its a problem with the template of Movabletype, but something that still needs work to get a better experience.

But I've enjoyed finding podcasts which utilize the COMMENTS in the RSS feed so the mobile link can take you directly to browse or make comments on the device which is cool.

ANYWAY...

You can leave comments for the Nokia Music Podcast about the artists or recommend other "podsafe music" for consideration in upcoming shows as well. Let us know if there is a genre you are aching to hear that we arent hitting yet.

The RSS feed is one of the first defaults of in the FEATURED section of Nokia Podcasting DIRECTORIES.

Here is the RSS feed for the Nokia Music Podcast show to paste into your Nokia Podcasting application or your favourite PC/Mac Podcatcher:
http://blogs.s60.com/nokiamusicpodcast/posts.xml

Thanks for listening.

Well, the majority of your recommendations are now live in the Nokia Podcasting app. (I'm a firm believer that instant gratification still takes too long. So isn't it nice to see some things can be implemented fairly quickly.)

There is a new subfolder in the Featured directory called "Recommended from Nokia Podcasting Blog" which is now dedicated to podcasts recommended by YOU.

There are a few recommendations which we thought would be best suited to be in our international directories because they were in a language other than english. So placing them within the appropriate country folder seemed the most logical place.

We're experimenting here... so the podcasts listed may rotate or be taken off. But let's see what the feedback is. Like I said before, feel free to self-hype for your 15 minutes of fame. You might be a breakout star.

We will continue to take submissions from the COMMENTS section. As a reminder:

Please list:
1. Name of Podcast
2. URL of RSS feed
3. Format (Audio or Video)
4. Why you think its a great podcast

Many shows were previously suggested with either no link or only a link to the website. Don't make us work too hard to find you.

Also, feel free to leave feedback on the categorizations. We put a few shows in "Comedy" which probably should be under "Talk Shows" or "Talk Radio". The idea is that the categories can help people find what they want quickly. So we're open to suggestions.

So help us continue to help connect people to cool content they might not otherwise find. Your voice is heard.

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Original Post:

For those of you who have installed and used Nokia Podcasting on an NSeries S60 3rd edition "multimedia computer":
(and ok..you Eseries fans can play, too)

We have survey for Nokia Podcasting up and running for you to give feedback.

URL LINK WAS HERE: Nokia Podcasting Survey is now closed

We want to know how well you think the application works as a mobile podcatcher (ie., the usability of the app once you've gotten connected...not the connectivity/WLAN) as well as feedback on what things you feel are priorities for future versions. (Here's where you can let us have it to get that Bookmarking feature in, to improve the setup of the WLAN, improved personalization of folders, Podcast creation, etc.)

It's unfortunately a pretty looooong survey (34 questions... both scaled and open ended.). But we really need to ask the questions to find out which things are on the right track, what needs to be prioritized, and to justify that mobile podcasting is worth the time and investment to continue to develop.

Thanks in advance for your feedback! (And feel free to leave a comment in the comments section if you havent yet used the Podcasting app, but are interested in giving feedback in the future.)

UPDATE EDIT:
From the Comments, Alex said:

I filled out the survey, and would certainly encourage everyone to do the same. In addition, here a few comments that I'd like to share with everyone here.

Before adding new features, it would nice to see some of the existing features improved:

Thanks Alex. To clarify: The survey is absolutely concerned about how to improve existing features as well as new features. This feedback just helps the development team get an idea of which things appear to be highest priority from the key users. Is an existing feature "good enough" to want to get other new features in before going back to make other improvements... or would improvements be more useful than new stuff?

You get the idea. But I wanted to clarify that we're definately looking at the improvements as well as the new.

Download: Nokia Podcasting 1.00.2

Minor updates include:

1. Default Download Limit `% Setting changed from 25% to 75%
2. Fixed ability to search within active Directories.

Oh? You didn't know you could do that? Try this:
a. Open a directory in DIRECTORIES (The folder will change color to Yellow when active)
b. If there is a folder within that directory, click to activate it.
c. Choose OPTIONS>SEARCH and type in a key word or title.
d. The Search will look within the active directories.
e. A temporary folder will appear in DIRECTORIES with the search results. This will be cleared when you exit Nokia Podcasting.

This is helpful for finding content in many subfolders of the DIRECTORIES>PODCAST DISCOVERY folder. Or if you add your own favourite OPML directory and want to only search within that rather than a wider search. (Helpful also for international directories when wanting to search in local languages.)

3. Fixed problem with installing newer version of Podcasting over an older version. (See Updating Nokia Podcasting: FAQ for more information)

NOTE: We have noticed that the automatic updating feature still needs some work before its perfect.

If you are automatically updating many large files at the same time, sometimes not all of the episodes will update. (You will see a red "!" by the shows not updated.)

To fix this, you can either manually update the shows which failed, or if your device is plugged in- try changing the default Download settings to update every hour (staring at a specified time) instead of just once a day. This should pick up any failed updates.

Thank you all for the comments in the other posts. We are reading everything and continuing to evaluate what we can do to make things better. We're already hard at work on implementing some of those issues. :-)

As many of you know, Nokia Podcasting features default directories to help users quickly find recommended content to help discover great audio and video podcasts. (One of my favourite new default directories is "International", which highlights engaging podcasts from around the world in various local languages.)

So what are your favourite podcasts are why do you like them?
In the Comments section below, tell us your top 3 favourite podcasts (or Podcast Directories) which you think should be added.

Please list:
1. Name of Podcast
2. URL of RSS feed
3. Format (Audio or Video)
4. Why you think its a great podcast

Shameless self-promotion is acceptable.

We are specifically looking for content that would be immediately accessable to a general international audience for an excellent first time podcasting experience.

(Note: excessive vulgarity is not usually encouraged for featured podcasts.)