Published by Steve Litchfield at 10:20 UTC, May 24th 2018

Last covered here on May 3rd, classic podcatcher Podcast Lounge UWP (still technically in beta) continues to improve apace. I make no apologies for dipping into its beta period with multiple Flow stories here on AAWP - the developer, Richard Castle, has been incredibly communicative in terms of what's new and changed, as well as really getting involved with readers and users, with fantastically detailed changelogs.

Here are the new features and 'enhancements' for v1.2.50 since the last time we featured Podcast Lounge UWP (for v1.2.45). Note that I've omitted bug fixes for the sake of brevity in the list(!):

New: Added support for the 2018 British Podcast Awards under a new section called Spotlight (within Discovery)

New: Added support for iTunes url schemes meaning you can trigger PL2 via a “subscribe via iTunes” button (PC only)

New: Added PodHub UK into the catalogue listing just for Steve

Enh: Added timestamps to entering/leaving background log messages

Enh: Test optimisation of episodes read from DB – 2/3 improvement in read performance

Enh: Changed the log file viewer font

Enh: Network status event now detects metered network changes

Enh: Added the ability to suppress download deletion questions (override in settings > downloads)

Enh: Centralised network change event routine

Enh: Additional download status reporting for downloads waiting for system resources (network etc.)

Enh: Deleting a single episode now mentions the episode by name

Enh: Background sync now checks for metered networks before it proceeds

Enh: Added extra logging information for background sync routines

Enh: Added ability to individually pause and resume downloads on the “In Progress” section

Enh: Moved messageboxes out of global download routine and added full return status object for more efficient code

Some screens of some of this in action:

The new Spotlight section highlights podcasts of interest, in this case the British Podcast Awards (by the way, AAWP and PSC weren't considered in the awards because you have to pay to be in the running, which has always seemed cock-eyed to me!); (right) PodHub UK is now in Collections - hoorah! (And yes, I'll try to find out what's happened to the 361 Podcast....)

Smart playlists seem a little faster in their generation - is it just me, or wishful thinking, etc?

Confirmation by name when deleting things manually; (right) individual delete controls when long pressing a downloading podcast (useful if there are 10 downloading and you want to stop one coming down that you're not to interested in)

Development is still rocketing along and news of the end of the 'beta' period is coming soon, we promise. It's a shame that it started so late in Windows 10 Mobile's life cycle, but there we go. Of course, this also works on desktops, tablets, Xbox, and so on, but my gut feel is that its home is on Mobile, just as with its WP8.1 predecessor.

The beta is here in the Store. Go to it, and make sure you use the built in Feedback section to report any issues or make any suggestions. Podcast Lounge is developing into the sort of class leading UWP app (like Tweetium - for Twitter) that actually makes one want to use Windows in order to use the app. My thought for the day.

PS. It's true that I've already done a big podcatcher round up for Windows 10 Mobile, so at some point (when this is out of beta?) I need to update it to add Podcast Lounge. And do see my top picks there, for comparison against this new contender.