Belkin Podcast Studio at CES... Here's a better solution

Not too long ago Greggie C asked me if there was a way to cost effectively record to his iPod. I wrote this article in response to that inquiry. Now the folks at Belkin have decided that it's time for a more serious and task specific piece of gear for recording on the go with your iPod and at CES (Gawd how I wish I was there!)they are showing the Podcast Studio (Pictured to the left) The Belkin Podcast Studio has both XLR and 1/4" inputs on it and it's own speaker. it records directly to the iPod in WAV format which has its pluses and minuses. On the + side the sound quality will be better and there will only be one step from editing in WAV to uploading in mp3. On the - side the files will be quite large so you better have some serious room on that iPod if you plan on a long show.
One of the nicest things about this piece of gear is that it runs on its own power! that means it isn't leeching power from your iPod and makes it a more practical device. Additionally Belkin has priced it so that the mere mortals of the podcasting world can easily add this baby to their arsenal. It will be available in June for $100 MSRP and that means we'll see it come in around $89 or so at our favorite e-tailers. Sweet! There is no mention of the device on the Belkin website but I am sure that now that the cat is out of the bag we'll see more specs in short order.