Why are DAP manufacturers ignoring podcasts?

[fingertrouble]

As a podcaster (Radio Clash, since 2004) and the fact there has been a massive boom and revival in podcasting I'm amazed that how many DAPs don't have the basic auto-resume per track like my old iPod Nano did. I mean audiobook support as well would be ace, but really this should be DAP 101. We shouldn't be stepping backwards from the iPod, surely?

Apparently Sony's current range doesn't do it?
My Shanling M0 doesn't do it, and I'm having all kinds of issues with it. Since day 1 this has been requested!
FiiO doesn't seem to do it, not sure, seems the older ones did, but the newer ones don't? I see all the requests here for it when I search...apparently been ignored.
Other devices claim to, but apparently 'lose' their position when charged/connected to a machine.

So anyone suggest a currently in production DAP that supports a SD card of 256Gb or greater, is Nano-sized/small, has reliable BT AND can do per-track resume and not lose it when the device is charged/connected? Preferably on the same sort of budget end as the Nano was (around £100) if possible, but really at this point I'd happily save up for something that actually works, rather than the never-never promises of most of the cheap Chinese manufacturers who can't seem to get a basic MP3 player to work properly.

Cos at the moment I've gone back to my old iPod Nano in disgust and protest at this massive market that all the manufacturers seem to be ignoring.

 

[Raketen]

The last non-Android device I had that did it properly was the Sony A17.... maybe you can find a used A10/A20 series model for a good price? Really irritating because the new series A30/40/50 series seem based on a very similar OS but don't have the feature... at least having the touch screen makes it easy to seek.

I think there are still a few DAP that have rockbox builds like the XDuoo x3?
I never figured out auto-bookmark/resume with Rockbox, but it used to be able to do manual bookmarking.

Maybe the current Sandisk Players still do this? IIRC the old Clip series OS did resume... not sure about the new ones though. Possibly some of those ultrabudget OEM daps branded as Ruizu/AGPTek etc... can do it? Maybe ask on the Chinese budget DAP thread.

 

[castleofargh]

As a podcaster (Radio Clash, since 2004) and the fact there has been a massive boom and revival in podcasting I'm amazed that how many DAPs don't have the basic auto-resume per track like my old iPod Nano did. I mean audiobook support as well would be ace, but really this should be DAP 101. We shouldn't be stepping backwards from the iPod, surely?

Apparently Sony's current range doesn't do it?
My Shanling M0 doesn't do it, and I'm having all kinds of issues with it. Since day 1 this has been requested!
FiiO doesn't seem to do it, not sure, seems the older ones did, but the newer ones don't? I see all the requests here for it when I search...apparently been ignored.
Other devices claim to, but apparently 'lose' their position when charged/connected to a machine.

So anyone suggest a currently in production DAP that supports a SD card of 256Gb or greater, is Nano-sized/small, has reliable BT AND can do per-track resume and not lose it when the device is charged/connected? Preferably on the same sort of budget end as the Nano was (around £100) if possible, but really at this point I'd happily save up for something that actually works, rather than the never-never promises of most of the cheap Chinese manufacturers who can't seem to get a basic MP3 player to work properly.

Cos at the moment I've gone back to my old iPod Nano in disgust and protest at this massive market that all the manufacturers seem to be ignoring.

as far as having modern BT chip and good handling of podcasts, I'd say to forget about DAPs and rely on your smartphone. a few android based DAPs will have cool BT chip and functions, but most of the time, even those facilitating streaming and such(so they need to bother with actual tech), will turn out to be a restricted version of what anybody can do on his phone. I hate big smartphones and still have a "dumb one" with 2 weeks of battery for phone calls. I use my smartphone as a BT DAP and to waste time when suspect I will get stuck somewhere. but we have to face reality, the DAP market is a dinosaur serving people with mostly retrograde mentality(including me I guess, with my constant demand for physical buttons for the most common actions so that we can do stuff without having to always take the DAP out of our pocket).

I think you're asking too much, but if you find your perfect DAP, please let me know so I can buy one or 2 ^_^. right now I'm still on an old Sony A15 for podcasts. BT is weak, the auto resume works only if you use it everyday(otherwise it shutdowns and you have to go back into podcast and find the one you want). but it does remember the position of several files in the podcast directory, so I can listen to an audiobook and move on to some podcast without losing my mind and my place in the book. that's pretty much the one reason why I still use this DAP.

 

[fingertrouble]

Maybe the current Sandisk Players still do this? IIRC the old Clip series OS did resume... not sure about the new ones though. Possibly some of those ultrabudget OEM daps branded as Ruizu/AGPTek etc... can do it? Maybe ask on the Chinese budget DAP thread.

I know the AGPTek doesn't, or I don't remember my cheapy (and rather bulky) device doing it, and it can't do AAC over BT. Maybe others...but there seems to be a lot of promising and not delivering with those cheap Chinese DAPs!

 

[davidcotton]

You will need android daps and apps for this simple request in 2019 I'm afraid. For that I mean android daps that connect to the google play store or can sideload apks without issue. It is so frustrating that I have forgotten how many promising daps have had to be discounted due to this lack of function.
I use Hiby R6 and smart audiobook which works well enough (used to be a big audiobook consumer a while back) but it's clunky as hell compared to the likes of the ipod. If you don't mind itunes (spit) then there is always the ipod touch 128 gig model. I'd have got that myself but cameras are banned where I work so that's out along with any mobile devices leaving android devices.

There've been quite a few of us in various dap threads asking for podcast/audiobook support to be met with pretty much silence. Most of the chinese firms seem to think that audiobook=audible and thus requires a license when all we are after is a straightforward resume function.

One last advice never buy a dap based on "promises" from the manufacturer. Always assume that what's on the player when it comes out is what it is. Anything else is a bonus. Not going near shanling again.

I'd love a nano sized mp3 player with ms slot and podcast support in 2019, guess not to be. Might as well buy an ipod classic and mod it

 

[Raketen]

There've been quite a few of us in various dap threads asking for podcast/audiobook support to be met with pretty much silence. Most of the chinese firms seem to think that audiobook=audible and thus requires a license when all we are after is a straightforward resume function.

One last advice never buy a dap based on "promises" from the manufacturer. Always assume that what's on the player when it comes out is what it is. Anything else is a bonus. Not going near shanling again.

Yeah, I had high hopes for the Hiby R3, and they seemed receptive to suggestions, but no progress on that front... other non Hiby DAPs use Hiby OS, so if they did it there's a chance the feature could become more commonplace, but really no indication of change after it has been out for a year.

Newer Astell & Kern DAPs have a "Services" feature which allows a few select APK apps (for instance Spotify, which has been pushing podcasts lately though idk how well their app functions for this purpose) - however there is no clarity on what "Services" are available on which daps. Their Activo C10 is relatively affordable and doesn't look massive, but they only specifically mention Tidal for it. Based on my experience with A&K they probably won't improve the CT10 firmware in any meaningful way, but perhaps there is some sliver of hope for future iterations of that DAP if they continue to expand Services function.

 

[fingertrouble]

You will need android daps and apps for this simple request in 2019 I'm afraid. For that I mean android daps that connect to the google play store or can sideload apks without issue. It is so frustrating that I have forgotten how many promising daps have had to be discounted due to this lack of function.
I use Hiby R6 and smart audiobook which works well enough (used to be a big audiobook consumer a while back) but it's clunky as hell compared to the likes of the ipod. If you don't mind itunes (spit) then there is always the ipod touch 128 gig model. I'd have got that myself but cameras are banned where I work so that's out along with any mobile devices leaving android devices.

Yeah none of those are small. The whole point for me is that MP3 devices are smaller than my phone! If they are phone-sized then I can just take my phone (but then battery life becomes a problem).