Mobile radio podcasts from Pod2Mob BY OUR TECH CORRESPONDENT 25 August, 2005: Podcasts on mobile phones have taken a step closer to reality with a Californian company stepping into the battle. The US-based Pod2Mob unveiled Pod2Mob, small software which downloads podcast as streaming audio into the computer. The company claimed that after installing the software, any basic mobile phone can be used to access the podcasts from internet radio stations, and selected and refreshed whenever desired. With this, mobile podcasts have taken a step closer to the end-user which have so far been limited to the iPod. Listening to podcasts on the iPod means that one has to download podcasts first and hook it up to the iPod, before stepping out with the iPod.  Currently, there is estimated that there are about 15 million iPod users. Another 10 million own MP3 players, adding up to 25 million potential users of podcasts. However, if the mobile phone can be turned into a device for accessing podcasts, it means expanding the potential market for podcasts to 100 million, the number of cell phone users worldwide. To this end, several mobile phone companies have been thinking out ways to integrate podcasting facilities into the cell phone. Motorola is seen as the front runner in this, having already secured FCC clearance for launching a cell phone with Apple iTunes software. The latest version of iTunes 4.9 can be used to access podcasts, just as in a computer.  Said Brad Zutaut, co-founder of the company: "Pod2Mob turns every mobile phone into an iPod. Until now, podcasting has been a fun, new medium with a limited audience, but Pod2Mob has just expanded that audience beyond the elite to the mainstream." The software by Pod2Mob can download podcasts live and streams them to an applet on the user's cell phone. The Pod2Mob applet puts users in control of remote podcasting. The podcasts can be refreshed as often as desired, but mostly once daily, since tr majority of podcasts are produced daily. Programs can be rated by the phone users for quality and popularity, and an easily accessible favorites list makes it easy to get your daily fix. BY OUR TECH CORRESPONDENT