Back in April, we reported on an M-Audio Palm-Sized Recorder, which the company was showing at the German MusikMesse conference. Think CompactFlash-based device, 24-bit/96 KHz WAV/MP3, mic / line / digital ins, USB 2.0 connection. (Specs subject to clarification/change.) Now, M-Audio has shown the portable recorder again, at the Barcelona AES Conference (which CDM ranks #1 on our List of Conferences We Wish We Had an Expense Account to Attend). M-Audio is apparently continuing the trend of showing “secret” prototypes at European trade shows prior to their world/U.S. release. Ing. Karl Petermichl, a pro audio with Austria’s ORF public broadcaster, writes us:
I visited the AES Convention in Barcelona in June, and there the FlashTracker was shown under a glass plate, but on display for the public and not hidden. The M-Audio representative on the stand told me it should be available in September for around � 450.-
Thanks, Karl. Karl also sends images — check out how small this thing is compared to the FireWire 410 it’s sitting in front of. Incidentally, Karl’s EUR 450 price is significantly lower than the EUR 599 MacMusic thinks will be charged — but then, MacMusic also thinks the product is called “MicroTrack,” despite “FlashTracker” being written on the case. I expect we won’t know what it’s called or what it will cost until M-Audio officially releases the product. Until then, we can look under the glass and dream . . . wait, no, that’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Never mind.
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