An Awesome Time for Podcasts!

In the next few months, Apple will release iTunes 4.9, which will come with a built in podcast aggregator, making it easier than it already is to subscribe, listen, and transfer podcasts to your iPod. iTunes will make the standard process of entering the URL for a podcast feed look archaic.

The new version of iTunes will feature a podcast directory that looks very much like the flagship iTunes Music Store (iTMS). In this directory, you’ll be able to browse through thousands of different podcasts giving you the ability to download and or subscribe to at the click of a button. You will no longer need a separate program to do all of that work for you.

I feel that this will make it even easier on users, and it will help push this new medium forward.

More information from the AP @ Yahoo!

At a technology conference on Monday, Jobs previewed iTunes version 4.9. The software allows users to click on and subscribe to different podcasts, then automatically delivers the shows to any connected iPod — far less cumbersome than the third-party applications many listeners now need.

The newest iTunes will include a directory of podcasts, and creators will be able to register their shows with Apple's iTunes Music Store.

"We think it's going to take podcasting mainstream, to where anyone can do it," Jobs told the gathering of software developers.

Jobs' support for podcasting could make the phenomenon more popular, particularly if the iTunes store becomes the Internet's de facto repository of podcasts. Since its launch two years ago, the store has sold more than 400 million songs.

Last month, Jobs said podcasts on iTunes would initially be free. But he's been coy about whether Apple would allow podcasters to sell premium content through iTunes — a move that would make Apple's music service compete against Audible.com and other sites that feature unique content.