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Cool feature but you can only download tv program's. I want to download radio program's to listen too at night when I do night shift. I know there are podcasts available for some radio programs but they do not cover much of the radio output of the BBC. What is the problem with allowing radio program's to be downloaded?

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I agree with the above post - That's the main reason I wanted the app - I don't have a good broadband speed where I live, and the iplayer is subject to glitches. This even applies to the version that comes with my BT vision set up. I tried to catch up with Geoffrey Smiths Jazz, and the BT vision box, lap top and ipad versions all let me down!

According to http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/may/16/android-smartphone-market-50-percent and others, Android has over 50% of the UK smartphone market and Apple around 30%.

Now let me think? Which app should the BBC develop first???

Will this be rolled out to the Global iPlayer for people outside the UK, eg Republic of Ireland?
Just wondering is it a case if this is successful we'll do it or no it will never happen due to copyright issues and licensing deals. I believe this is the reason we have less content than the regular app.

Great news! Now - when can we have syncing across devices so that the programmes I've got on my desktop app can be accessed on my phone too?

@dukeofearl - There may be more Android users but IOS users currently use their device more. Many people have an android phone but just use it as a phone not a smartphone. Its also much harder to develop for the various different Android versions. Its the logical decision at the moment for most App developers

"The new mobile downloads feature is initially available on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices running iOS 5.1."

I didn't see *that* coming.

@Rob_Quads, as a developer for both IOS and Android that is not actually universally true. For android you develop one app that (if you do it correctly and follow the design guidelines) works on all devices no matter how big or small or what shape they are. For IOS you are really developing an ipad and a iphone app. Granted, if you don't do the android one correctly you may have issues and there may have issues but I'd imagine the BBC is big enough to do stuff properly. The BBCs issue is that they based iplayer on android completely on a 3rd party piece of software that they knew was being withdrawn (flash). They took a lazy gamble and it didn't pay off. The fact that most people use Android so soon after the gamble is just an unfortunately side effect of technology moving so quickly and large development processes moving so slowly. It has nothing to do with the two myths that you mistakenly have quoted.

This is amazing. Thank you!

Will this mean that the app will finally be available for devices that can't run Flash???

@stanleywinston - Its obviously VERY hard to code to the guidelines then (only know iOS myself) as its a small %age of the apps out there that are supported on all Androids OS levels.

Will this app (for Android) be the new (non Flash) iPlayer app, or will they be separate and will it/they be based on Adobe Air (I certainly hope not!! The Air based ITV Player is even worse than the Flash based iPlayer, and that's really saying something)!!!

@10 stanleywinstone: Thumbs up!

Why start by saying "Today BBC iPlayer is launching mobile downloads on smartphones and tablets." and only later clarify that it's Apple only?

Are you able to say whether the Android support will be in days, weeks, months or years? And will it come before or after you stop requiring flash on Android?

And why wifi only? Surely it should be up to users to manage their 3G data usage. At the very least you should give the option to download over 3g as well as wifi.

@13 Rob_Quads

"(only know iOS myself)".....

A bit like criticising a Ferrari when you have only ever driven a pedal car, then!

It's been mentioned on the blog before (in relation to the app on the Nexus 7/JellyBean) that the delay in the Android app at the moment is down to DRM and that the app is in the testing phase (if this is wrong/out-of-date hopefully a BBC bod will correct me).

Flash was the goto product for Android's iPlayer. It incorporated DRM and was established on many Android devices. I don't see that as lazy. Developers reuse existing functions and products all the time. No sense re-inventing the wheel.
Recent developments see Adobe withdraw flash and Jelly Bean not include it. Meaning the push towards developing the Android app has to be a new app with a new DRM model, rather than further changes to the existing app.
HTML5 streaming is already available so that's easy enough but a working DRM model is more difficult - especially given Androids more open ecosystem. I think we can assume that the BBC will have to jump through many red-tape adorned hoops to show that any solution must protect the content and prevent, to the best of it's ability, unauthorised copying and distribution.
Now that's going to take longer than a fairly minor tweak to the existing iOS app.

So while it would be great if a multi-platform solution could have a unilateral release there's no sense holding back features on some platforms to wait on others.

No Subtitles available, that's very disappointing.

This will perhaps patch up the DRM bypass previously made available to iOS devices and exploited by get_iplayer.

If it was OK to provide material DRM free to iOS devices thus far, then it should also be OK on Android devices now.

The ability to multitask when using AirPlay has been removed - how come??

Previously you could play / pause an AirPlay-ing iPlayer programme using the Apple Remote App -- you could then cary on using other apps on your phone whilst the stream continued to play via AirPlay in the background -- losing this ability is seriously annoying!