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Add to SafariWhen comparing Downcast vs Solid Explorer, the Slant community recommends Downcast for most people. In the question“What are the most useful Android phone apps?” Downcast is ranked 21st while Solid Explorer is ranked 25th. The most important reason people chose Downcast is:
Downcast can be set to automatically download new episodes of podcasts in the background.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Auto-downloads podcasts
Downcast can be set to automatically download new episodes of podcasts in the background.
Pro Adjustable playback speed
You can change the playback speed to fit your needs up to 3x the speed.
Pro Sync between iOS devices
Downcast can synchronize podcasts and settings across iOS devices through iCloud.
Pro Supports password-protected feeds
Pro Accesses iTunes podcast library
Pro Gesture shortcuts
Downcast supports multi-touch gestures for navigating around.
Pro Sleep timer
You can set Downcast to shut off podcasts after a set amount of time.
Pro Adjustable skip interval
Pro Set the end time to be x seconds / minutes from the end time.
The ability to set the end time to be x seconds / minutes from the end is so excellent.
Pro Set the start time to be x seconds / minutes from the start time.
The ability to set the start time to be x seconds / minutes from the start time is amazing.
Pro Straightforward discovery system with feed support
This app helps users subscribe to podcasts through browsing top lists and categories as well as entering a feed or OPML address.
Pro Simple to use UI
Downcast has a straightforward, intuitive user interface.
Pro Mac App available
Pro Can stream episodes without downloading
Pro Can prioritize playlists
You can have Downcast prioritize your playlists automatically, allowing you to listen to podcasts in the order your prefer without you having to manually reorganize them.
Pro Set how long you wish to keep your podcasts locally
Downcast can be set to automatically remove podcasts that have been on your device for a certain amount of time or take up a certain amount of space on your device. This can be done to groups of podcasts or on a per podcast basis.
Pro AirPlay support
Pro Prioritizes show notes
Selecting a podcast for playback will bring up shownotes, instead of the more common choice of album art.
Pro Easy to use
With the amount of functions as well as the two pane browsing, Solid Explorer is very easy to use.
Pro Two panel browsing
Solid Explorer allows for two separate panels to be browsed simultaneously, allowing for easy copy past functions as well as drag and drop.
Pro Beautiful material design
Pro Connects to cloud services
Add Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox, and more, all natively through extensions.
Pro Ability to read and extract ZIP, 7ZIP, RAR and TAR archives, even encrypted
Pro Rich customization options: icons sets, colour schemes, themes
Pro A perfect implementation of Material Design
Pro Multi-Platform Versatility
Solid Explorer has efficient, productive, and fluid interfaces customized for each users' specific platforms. Versatile, intuitive, and productive on small mobile screens, and capitalizes on larger mobiles (tablets), increasing functionality with added screen real estate.
Pro Cloud file manager: Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Google Drive, Sugarsync, Copy, Mediafire, Owncloud, Yandex
Pro Ability to create password protected ZIP and 7ZIP archives
Pro FTP, SFTP, WebDav, SMB/CIFS clients
Pro Root access makes Solid Explorer a fully functional root explorer
Pro Detailed file information with storage usage statistics
Pro Native picture viewer (SE Image) and music player (SE Music Player)
Allows quick opening of images and audio files to preview without opening another app.
Pro Useful tools: hiding unwanted folders, FTP Server (plugin), bookmarks, Chromecast support, media browser
Pro Batch rename: change names of multiple files at once using regular expressions and variables
Pro Indexed search finds your files in a couple of seconds
Pro Protect individual files &/or folders with a password
If your device has a fingerprint sensor you can use it to open encrypted files without a need to provide the password. The same applies for cloud storages, which can now be accessed with the fingerprint as well.
Pro Extensibility: more features in separate plugins available in Google Play
Cons
Con Extremely buggy
Around mid-2015 Downcast implemented some code that started to leave infinite loop processes that have the potential to cause the phone to heat up, lag, crash Downcast, or crash other apps. The bugs have only continued to get worse. Go with Overcast or Pocket Casts, or even Podcatcher for the Downcast feel.
Con Doesn't sync with iTunes
Con Costs money
There is a 14 day free trial, but for those that would like to use the app longer, it will cost money to unlock.
Con Slow SMB connections
Connecting to a Samba server can take 30 seconds or longer.
Con No native Office document viewer or video player
There is no native document viewer, except for the plain text editor (SE Text Editor), nor is there a native video player, with the exception of a video casting app (SE Video Cast). The video casting app appears to require a Chromecast device.
