RSS Player iPhone app: Backdoor Podcaster

The iPhone developer behind the rejected Podcaster app has found a way to get another program into Apple's App Store that downloads podcasts to your handset.

The developer, who has a private Blogger profile but appears to go by Alex, according to Uneasy Silence, has a new application called RSS Player that duplicates the basic function of Podcaster -- letting you download podcasts to your iPhone or iPod touch -- but without some of the features that Apple appears to have disliked. For example, you can't search for podcasts through the app, you have to subscribe to the RSS feed for those podcasts.

Back in September, Apple rejected Podcaster, which allowed you to search for podcasts and download them to your device, a feature Apple later added to the iPhone, although it limited it to podcasts under 10MB. That was one of the first rejected apps to highlight iPhone developer frustration over a lack of communication concerning which technologies and features were forbidden from the App Store, and why.

The iPhone application review process still seems rather nebulous, but the iPhone application business itself is booming. Apple announced two weeks ago that 15,000 applications are available on the App Store, and that those applications have been downloaded 500 million times, just six months after the store opened for business.