BlackBerry 8800 for Podcast Listening

Steve commented on my recent post on my experience with the BlackBerry 8800 asking about my podcast experience.  At that time I didn’t have a micro SD card.  Now all installed here is my experience.

You’ll have to enable Mass Storage Support for the card [Tools > Advanced Options > Media Card > Mass Storage Support > On].  This allows the card to act as a USB storage device.  You can then transfer media to the device using the Roxio software which comes with the Desktop Manager application.  I would recommend this approach as it optimises the audio files for the BlackBerry media players.

To get my podcasts in the first place I use my Newsgator online account, save any podcasts I want to listen to in the MyPodcasts folder (under clippings).  Then I use Feedstation to download the files and Roxio to transfer them to the Blackberry.  Its a bit cumbersome but not too bad.  You can save files directly to the device from Feedstation, but I haven’t utilised that feature yet.  Newsgator online accounts and Feedstation are both free.

One Gotcha: when loading media onto the BlackBerry it must be USB connected to the PC.  One thing I didn’t realise is the device won’t let you see the media you’ve loaded until the USB is disconnected.  That threw me for few minutes!

When listening the device is good.  You can play all content or content in a folder or individual files.  You can play through the headset and pause by pressing the answer button on the headset (either when answering a call or wanting to just pause the podcast).  This also works when the device has locked after the timeout period.  When listening on speakers the mute button at the top of the device provides the same functionality as does answering or making a telephone call.