Audio recording recommendations

Information is presented as a features table, including advantages, disadvantages, and user-cases. This will allow users to rate products to their own specific requirements rather than to provide a set of recommendations besed on criteria set by a specific requirement. Cost is based on Amazon UK price as a standard at December 2011 - items may be available elsewhere cheaper.

Model	Type	Cost	Advantages	Disadvantages	Output	Connection	Power	Best use cases
Alesis Podcasting Kit	desktop	£89.00	kit includes commentator style mic, headphones, stable desktop stand	product discontinued		usb	usb	podcasting
Blue Snowball mic	desktop	£65.09	high quality sound, options for 90 to 360 degree pick-up			usb	usb	music, podcasting, interview, skype
Blue Snowflake mic	desktop	£34.99	portable, high quality sound, 360 or 90 degree pick-up	sensitive to computer 'hum'		usb	usb	music, podcasting, interview, skype
Edirol R09	standalone	£257.00	robust, external mic option, excellent sound quality	product discontinued	mp3, wav	usb	2 AA battery	music, lecture capture, interview
Logitech stick mic	desktop	£12.70	clear voice recording, noise cancelling - doesn't pick up sound unless close to mic	doesn't pick up sound unless close to mic		usb	usb	skype, podcasting
Logitech's Clearchat Comfort	headset	£28.99	clear spoken sound (though note disadvantages)	uncomfortable to wear for long periods, issues with voice recognition software		usb	usb	skype, podcasting
Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000	headset	£14.99		plug-n-play issues reported		usb	usb	podcasting, skype
Olympus VN-3100PC	standalone	£29.99	Clear screen display, multiple folders for organising clips	default mic metallic sound quality but can replace with external mic; needs software installed on user PC	.wav	usb	2 AAA batteries	interview, lecture capture
Olympus WS 650S	standalone	£60.00	stereo mic, large lcd screen, speech-to-text option, customisable pick-up settings, jack for external mic	usb cable not supplied by default	mp3, wma	usb	2 AAA batteries	memo, lecture capture, interview
Samson C03U	standalone	£99.00	extremely high sound quality, wide range of pick-up options			usb	usb	music, lecture capture, podcasting
Samson Go-mic	desktop	£39.00	portable			usb	usb	podcasting, interview, skype
Zoom H1	standalone	£79.00	high quality stereo sound, easy to use	plastic (fragile), accessory pack (separate purchase) probably a 'must have'	wav	usb	1 AA battery, mains option	music, podcasting, lecture capture, interview
Zoom H2 Handy Recorder	standalone or desktop	£119.00	high quality stereo sound, options for 90 to 360 degree pick-up	sensitive to handling noise	wav, mp3	usb	2 AA battery, usb	music, podcasting, lecture capture, interview