Yamaha Pocketrak USB Recorder Hits the NAMM Track

Concert bootleggers and podcasting enthusiasts take note: Yamaha just introduced the Pocketrak 2G Pocket Recorder, a hand-held audio recorder designed to appeal to your individual sensitivities. The two-channel recorder includes a bunch of tasty features, including both a stereo headphone jack and a built-in speaker; PCM, MP3, and WMA recording; 2GB of internal memory; a USB connection for downloading recorded material; a rechargeable nickel-hydrogen AAA battery with 19 hours of battery life; leather carrying case; and a special version of Steinberg's Cubase designed to integrate with the hardware.

We have to say we're impressed, but we do wonder about the memory limitation. Would it have been so difficult, especially for a product that will retail at $450 when it launches in April, to include a memory expansion slot? 2GB seems like enough space to start, but adding an expansion slot may mean the difference between carrying around a computer for backups, or just a pocket full of flash cards.