Also this week: A diagnostic program for smartphones called Carrier IQ raises serious privacy concerns; a must-have podcast app for iPhone users; and we kick off our holiday gift guide, starting with picks for your favorite student.

Portable AirStash flash drive wirelessly streams media files to your iPhone or iPad (hands-on review)
About the size of a thumbdrive, the AirStash wirelessly shares videos, photos, music, and more with an iPhone, iPad, or just about any Wi-Fi-enabled gadget. Read more…

The Carrier IQ privacy brouhaha: what you need to know
A firm that makes diagnostic software for phones is accused of accessing keystrokes, location data, SMS messages, and other private data. Should you be worried? Read more…

Holiday gift guide: Gadgets for college students
From a stylish laptop backpack to a voice-recording pen that’ll change the way she takes notes, we’ve got six gadgets sure to please your favorite scholar. Read more…

Seasons e-greetings! Top 5 sites for sending holiday cards & messages
Tired of hokey holiday cards? Skip the stationary store, save some cash, and preserve a few trees by creating your own personalized greeting cards online. Read more…

Podcast 005: The Carrier IQ controversy; spying on your teen’s text messages
This week, we have it out over Carrier IQ, the software that stands accused of spying on our smartphones. Also: should you spy on your teen’s text messages? Read more…

Are there any Android app gift cards for international shoppers? (reader mail)
Gift cards for Android apps are coming soon to Europe and other overseas markets. Just don’t expect a huge selection of Android apps to choose from. Read more…

Downcast: a must-have iPhone app for podcast listeners
There’s a hidden gem on the App Store that blows the iPhone’s native podcast manager away, especially when it comes to downloading new episodes. Read more…

How do I spy on my teen’s text messages? (reader mail)
Sure, there are indeed plenty of ways to secretly spy on your kid’s text messages. Whether you should, of course, is another question. Read more…

How to save your Photo Stream snapshots before they’re deleted (reader mail)
Saving your Photo Stream images forever is easy—and in some cases, it even happens automatically. Here’s how to do it. Read more…

Cyber Monday deals include cheap iPads, Blu-ray players, digital cameras
Yes, I know, Cyber Monday is history. Believe it or not, though, a few of these HDTV, Blu-ray, digital camera, and tablet deals are still on. Read more…

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Sure, you can tap the “Get More Episodes” link, but that yanks you out of the iPhone’s music app and sends you to the iTunes store, where you must then download new episodes one at a time. Lame.

Well, here’s the thing: there’s a hidden gem on the App Store that blows the iPhone’s native podcast manager away. I’m such a fan, in fact, that I gave it a coveted spot on the first page of my iPhone’s home screen. (Sorry, Calculator app.)

Downcast can check your podcast subscriptions and download new episodes automatically.

A “universal” app that also works on the iPad and iPod Touch, Downcast ($1.99) lets you browse, search for, and subscribe to podcasts from your iPhone.

Once you’ve got your podcasts all set up (and yes, you’ll have to recreate any podcast collection that you might have on iTunes), just go to your list of subscriptions and tug it down with your fingertip; Downcast will then check for and download any and all new episodes, all in one shot. Finally.

And here’s the part I really love: you can set Downcast to check your podcast subscriptions for new episodes automatically, anywhere from once a day to hourly, and even download them in the background. (You also have the option of downloading new episodes manually, or only when you’re in range of a Wi-Fi network.)

Downcast will keep or delete your downloaded podcasts as you see fit (for example, you can keep them all, or just the most recent episodes), and you can also start listening to a podcast before it’s completely downloaded.

Other features include playback buttons that let you skip forward or back a few seconds or minutes, the ability to create “smart” playlists of your latest podcast episodes (handy for drivers with long daily commutes), and a sleep timer.

Great stuff, and the developer is even promising iCloud support in an upcoming, good for syncing your podcast subscriptions across multiple devices.

I don’t often say this about the iPhone apps I review, but … go get it.

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