I love podcasts (they get me through the day).

But, I really hate iTunes Podcasts center.

As iTunes continues to improve, their Podcasts section still seems to be on its first generation. And based on passing conversations with friends at Apple, I am not sure that anyone is actually dedicated to the product (from the consumer side, that certainly makes sense). Here are 10 things that must be fixed.

1. The Release Date Sort Doesn’t Work

This kills me because not only is it amazingly simple to fix, its critical to the podcast experience.

The “Release Date” column doesn’t sort properly – making it impossible to visually determine which podcasts are newly updated (an important feature for regularly updated podcasts or large libraries).

Nine others…

2. Overuse of Pointless Icons (see exclamation point and information icons above)
3. Search for Podcasts, Get Commingled Search Results
4. Needs a Visual Overhaul
5. iPod Integration Outside of Playlists
6. Separation of Video & Audio Podcasts
7. Directory of Top Podcasts Beyond #100 (iTunes is about the tail after all)
8. Chronicling of “Today’s Top Podcasts” Beyond… Today!
9. Ability to Rate & Retrieve Ratings of Podcast “Episodes”
10. Finding Experience for Most Downloaded Episodes / Podcasts of Last 7 / 30 / 365 Days

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