iKEY Portable USB Recorder (http://www.ikey-audio.com/ikey.htm)

"Designed to record directly to any external USB storage device"

Records audio to uncompressed WAV format or MP3 format (w/ selectable bit rate, up to 256kbps).

At only $148 at The Sound Professionals it looks pretty interesting:
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?item=GEMINI-IKEY&type=store

That does look interesting. I was wondering if there was an alternative to a minidisc recorder.

Cute.

No mic preamps, though. Bungie together a preamp, the i-Key, with a flash drive hanging out the end? Seems awkward.

However, if you're recording in an environment where signals are already at line level it might be a handy device.

just imagine all the iRivers it could replace.

Just ordered one from B&H for $99.
I've been looking for a reason to get a new iPod!

Do you know if that can record using a condensor microphone?

No mic preamps means you have to get the signal to line level somehow. Nor would it supply phantom power for condensors.

But if you already have a mixer that provides preamps and phantom, the iKey *ought* to work fine.

You need a pretty hot preamp to drive the converters. I've noticed some low level noise from the way this buffers the signal with mp3s and with wavs. This is a great product for recording things with a high noise floor (like a concert, or anything outdoors). But, for critical, close up recordings, I'll still use the 442 and DAT (that cost ALOT more, so apples to oranges here).
I would have liked a way to hear back the recording, or even hear what's going to the hard drive (like a post converter out), but with an ipod that's easy... what you record just shows up in the playlist.
8.5 out of 10.

John
Check out the review on CNet today. They say background clicks and lack of time stamp are a real problem.