P | Cast is the latest addition to the list of podcast apps available for Windows Phone. A well thought out, flat, user interface makes P | Cast a good choice for those who want to start playing podcast audio content with a minimum of distractions. The "play most recent track" and "play random track" option on the app's opening screen mean it is possible to start listening to content with just a single tap.

Power users will also appreciate the simplicity of the "unplayed tracks" option, which lists unplayed content by publish date, something that's especially useful if you tend to download more podcasts that you have time to listen to. A more traditional list by podcast option is available in the app's subscription section.

Podcasts can be added and subscribed through the search section of the app. Currently there's no way to import / export an OPML file, or manually add a feed, two features we would like to see in a future version. To be fair to P| Cast the search tool does seem to be fairly comprehensive (it appears to draw on the Zune Marketplace / Windows Phone Store catalogue, which is usually only accessible to US users). 

P | Cast can, optionally, use a Live Tile pinned to the Start screen to let you know when new podcasts are available for download. On opening the app new podcasts will be automatically downloaded, and, once started, will continue to do so in the background, even if you close the app (uses the BackgroundTransferRequest API).

It's also possible to pin a podcast subscription to the Start screen, ensuring fast access to your favourite content. Other nice touches in the app are the integration with the Music+Videos hub, the automatically generated album art background, the ability to remember the last played position of a track (listen where you left off), and the automatic marking of tracks as played (and subsequent deletion).

Windows Phone is already well served by podcast apps, but if you're looking for a new approach, or starting from fresh, then P | Cast is well worth a look.

Windows Phone Store description:

P | Cast allows you to play you podcasts you're subscribed to. New tracks are downloaded automatically after first alerting you via the Live tile. Tracks are downloaded over wifi to avoid high data usage. Of course the tracks play in the background, so you can close the app while playing a track. This app also works perfectly with your car kit.

P | Cast, which is a Windows Phone 8 only app, can be downloaded through the Windows Phone Store. A free trial is available (7 days full functionality), with the full app costing £1.49 / $1.99 / €1.99