Five Apps for That: Customizing audio content for the road

user-gravatar Headshot
Updated Jul 31, 2017

Podcasts may be the perfect entertainment option for truckers: They’re mobile, they’re free, and they’re offered in as many genres as you find in periodicals, books and movies. Fans of audiobooks and talk radio will find plenty to like among the hundreds of thousands of podcasts.

All you need is a podcast player app on your smartphone or tablet to play the programming through your truck’s audio system.

Any podcast app you use will allow you to set up your podcast subscriptions. Since episodes can be downloaded in advance, no WiFi or data connection is required for playback.

Pod Cruncher 2017 07 27 14 54PodCruncher

PodCruncher offers variable playback speeds and continuous playback and queueing.

Forward and back buttons, customized to the number of seconds you prefer, let you jump ahead through slow material or replay something. Other options let you toggle between the podcasts on your playlists. Video podcasts are available full-screen modes.

Voice controls let you use the app while driving without having to touch your device. Podcasts can be set to auto-download in the background.

PodCruncher is available for $2.99 on iOS devices.

Podcast Radio Addict 2017 07 27 14 54Podcast & Radio Addict

This app offers over 450,000 podcasts. It includes adjustable playback speed and the ability to skip silence, allowing you to consume a podcast quicker.

The app has a shuffle mode and a loop mode and offers customized recommendations based on your podcast subscriptions. You also can browse trending podcasts by category.

Users can set podcasts to download automatically and delete themselves once they’ve been listened to.

Podcast & Radio Addict is available for free on Android devices.

Overcast 2017 07 27 14 54Overcast

Overcast offers smart speed, voice boost and smart playlists.

The smart speed feature picks up the speed without distorting the voices. The voice boost feature can be used to enhance and normalize speech, which is handy in a noisy cab. Smart playlists let users search and sort podcasts that can be downloaded for offline playing.

Podcasts and progress on them can be synced among iOS devices. Overcast is powered by a cloud service, which saves data usage and battery life.

Partner Insights
Information to advance your business from industry suppliers

Overcast is available for free on iOS devices.

Screen Shot 2017 07 27 At 2 55 38 Pm 2017 07 27 14 55Pocket Casts

Pocket Casts’ playback features include an up-next queue, silence trimmer, variable speed, volume boost, streaming and backward and forward skipping. Podcasts can be browsed by charts, networks and categories.

The app stores subscriptions, playback and filter preferences in the cloud so they can stay synced across different devices. It can be set to refresh automatically for new episodes when you’re connected to a WiFi signal so that they’re waiting for you when you open the app.

The app is available for $3.99 on Android and iOS devices.

Stitcher 2017 07 27 14 54Stitcher

Stitcher’s features include customizable playlists and pre-set stations from its editors, such as Top 20 Comedy shows and Top 20 News & Politics shows. The app also provides recommendations based on your listening history.

Stitcher offers variable speed playback, automatic downloads and continuous playback. Outside of podcasts, Stitcher also offers radio shows, including live stations. Its car mode feature simplifies the interface and makes the buttons larger, enabling easier control while driving.

The app is available for free on Android and iOS devices.