MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
When the smoke goes up, you'll know what's going down. That's the tag line for the website popealarm.com.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
It's just one of the many high-tech options out there for all of you on the edge of your seats, waiting for the first wisp of white smoke.
BLOCK: And if a website isn't immediate enough for you, there are a handful of new apps.
CORNISH: Pope2You, New Pope, iConclave.
BLOCK: They're chock-full of cardinal bios, procedural rules, odds on the candidates, tweets and live feeds from St. Peter's Square where not much is happening.
CORNISH: Most of the apps are free. But one called Conclave Alert does cost 99 cents. It boasts, quote, "History is now, and we are part of it."
BLOCK: Or if you go with an app called Popechart, you can read biographies of the most papable cardinals. Yes, that's papable. And you can pretend you're a cardinal and vote for your favorite next pope.
CORNISH: There is an official app out there from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Yes, that exists. The app is simply called the Pope app. It advertises all access.
BLOCK: Well, access at least to what they call official papal-related content. No, you will not get a sneak peek into the conclave at the Sistine Chapel.
CORNISH: Finally, the Guardian newspaper is keeping it simple. They've set up a website called...
BLOCK: Istherewhitesmoke.com.
CORNISH: Yup, just a blue screen with a plume, currently of black smoke, and two big, bold, white letters answering the website's question: Is there white smoke? No. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.