I’ve been using Castro for the last month and I’m smitten. Finally, a podcast client that thinks about podcasts the way I do.

Here is the simple list of things Castro does right:

1. Omni-present audio controls. If I’m in the app, and a podcast is playing, I don’t need to change screens to get to the audio controls. Bonus points for having the best scrubber control I’ve used and sane integration with the system audio controls.
2. Reliable auto-refresh and download of podcasts. I don’t want to have to think about it, I just want my audio when I’m ready for it.
3. Simple navigation. There are podcasts and there are episodes. Done. You can easily get from a list of one to a list of the other and you can easily get from a podcast to it’s episodes and vice versa. Bonus points for supporting gestures.

That’s it. No other app I’ve used has nailed these three things. Other podcast apps I’ve used (plus a couple I’m forgetting):

• Instacast
• Downcast
• Podcasts (Apple’s)
• Pod Wrangler
• Podcaster

Yes, Castro also supports searching to add podcasts, using the feed URL in your clipboard if there is one, OPML import, per-feed speed settings, etc. All that stuff is gravy. It’s the day to day usage that’s most important to me, and they’ve nailed it. And, it’s pretty.

If your podcast usage is similar to mine, check out Castro. Don’t want to invest the $3? I’ll be happy to buy you a copy to try out. I want to support these guys so they keep building this thing.