EraTech EVR-500 (256 MB) MP3 Player

Pros: Looks and works nice, has every feature I wanted.
Cons: No protective case, English web site not yet finished, Korea-only warranty.

This is a very light, nice looking toy. It plugs into your USB port and is immediately recognized as an external hard drive (Win2000/XP - in Win98 you need to install the included driver, so the instructions say). Beware of other products which require ...

Pros: Built-in mic, mic-in, line-in recording, good audio quality, FM radio, inexpensive, small & weighs little.
Cons: Can't set input level, you can't use stereo mics, so-so headphones, no belt-clip/arm band.

I had some specific things that I was looking for, and the EVR-500 had pretty much all of them. I'm in a rock band and wanted something small to record practices and musical ideas. Decided against the minidisc option because it's a pain to keep track of ...