The BBC is updating its iPlayer app for iOS devices and plans an update for Android in the near future. Using the BBC app, TV shows can be downloaded for free and viewed offline, a move that falls in line with climbing smartphone usage.

BBC iPlayer is a TV catch-up service across the BBC's television and radio stations, launched in 2007. Shows are available for download for just seven days after airing, due to the copyright reasons. Three makeovers arrived on the service since the 2007 debut, the latest in 2010 bringing social network integration with Facebook and Twitter.

"This fundamentally changes one of the most annoying restrictions about viewing programmes. It means audiences are liberated from the constraints [of online-only viewing] and it fundamentally changes what it means to go on holiday," the BBC's general manager of on-demand programmers Daniel Danker said according to The Guardian. It means users can now hear the Eastenders intro while walking along the beach in the early evening.

Danker also confirmed that downloading programmes will not add to the mobile bill when 3G downloads are introduced, though no specific date for the 3G release was given. Wi-Fi is still essential to watch programs. Additionally, the new featurse will not come at an additional cost to the UK's license fee, described as unfair decision for consumers; Channel 4 and ITV charge for the same feature.

Downloaded shows last for 30 days unwatched, or for seven days after first being watched, and the BBC revealed that 50 hours of TV content or 25 hours of high-definition media will fit on a 16GB iPhone or iPad.

The Guardian reported that mobile requests for the iPlayer app rose 140 percent to 30 million a month from 2011, and the iPad is now the most popular device for using the app -- taking over the PC.

BBC iPlayer for iOS and Android is available now to download for free, though is UK exclusive. The app also works for non-UK viewers.