iPod *can* be a high quality podcast recorder!

Several weeks ago I purchased the Griffin iTalk microphone to plug in to the top of my iPod — in the hope that I could use it as a portable podcast field recorder. Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware that the software in the iPod itself limited voice recording to 8khz (pretty crappy phone call quality) which is, I guess, why Apple dubs iPod voice recording as “voice memos”.

When I did my Edirol R1 podcast review on June 7th, I was already wondering *when* Apple would move forward on making the iPod in to a premiere podcast field recorder. Maybe Apple will…maybe they won’t…but I know where I’d place *my* bet.

So imagine my delight today when I read this article on The Linux iPod which proves the capability of the iPod hardware itself. It states in part, “You can record mono audio at up to 96kHz. To put <that> number into context, CDs are 44.1kHz, and Digital Audio Tape (DAT) is 48kHz. Most pro studio recording is done at 24 bits and 96kHz. Newer DVD-Audio discs also go up to 96kHz. The higher the quality you have up front, the better your recording will sound in the end.”

Methinks a high quality iPod recording capability is close…especially in light of iTunes 4.9 coming with its embrace of podcasting.