Research in Motion has released an updated version of its BlackBerry Podcasts app. Version 1.5 comes with a new web podcast search feature based on Google search. this lets you search for podcasts that aren’t already in the BlackBerry Podcast catalog. You can also copy and paste the URL of any podcast from another app in order to add it to your list.

The developers have also tweaked the app’s extensive catalog of podcasts. There are more than 3000 podcast feeds available, and now the first 40 in each category will be “featured” content. Apps will be featured if they’re popular with other users and the RIM staffers responsible for judging these things.

Blackberry Podcasts 1.5 also now lets you start listening to a podcast before it’s finished downloading.

BlackBerry Podcasts 1.5 is available as a free download from the BlackBerry App World. Unfortunately it’s only available in North America for now.

Research in Motion has released its new podcast app for BlackBerry. It’s cleverly titled… BlackBerry Podcasts, and it allows you to find, download, manage, and play podcasts on supported devices.

The app comes preloaded on any new phone running BlackBerry 6 (which right now means the BlackBery Torch 9800), and it’s available for download from the US and Canada BlackBerry App World for phones including the BlackBerry Bold, Storm, Pearl, Curve, and Tour.

BlackBerry Podcasts supports audio and video content. Users can search the catalog for podcasts and subscribe with a single click. Right now there are a limited number of the feeds in the library, but RIM is adding new feeds in a variety of categories including Arts, Business, Comedy, and Education. there’s also a Blackberry channel with “how to” videos covering various aspects of the BlackBerry experience.

New podcast episodes can be downloaded automatically. You’ll also receive a notification when new episodes are available. You can choose whether to allow your phone to download new material over the air or only over WiFi. And you can set the maximum number of episodes to keep on your device.

You can find more screenshots at Inside Blackberry.