Samson's Go Mic is ultra-portable, but lacks own storage

podcasting
Samson, already a maker of high-quality, low-cost USB microphones, recently added the ultra-portable Go Mic to its lineup.

The Go Mic (about $50) has a built-in, foldout laptop mount. You can also mount the Go Mic on a hinge, so your can set up a mini-studio in a hurry. You can also flip a switch to alter the microphone's recording patterns, to accommodate the sound sources in your ad-hoc studio setup.

The Go Mic has no storage capacity of its own, however.

For cordless, mobile podcast recording, Zoom Handy Recorder H2 is a better choice.

The Handy Recorder H2 is a lightweight but fairly sturdy portable mic with an SD card slot. The device's LED screen and buttons are a mess to navigate (you will need to hit the manual to figure it all out), but you can do some basic recording without extra help.

The H2, which uses two AA batteries, sells for about $160 at Amazon.com. It's available now. The Go Mic will be available in black or white, and will work easily with both Macs and PCs. The Go Mic will be shipped early in 2009, according to Samson.

accessories

For the iPhone, fingerless gloves make sense

Since I quit smoking many years ago, I've had trouble seeing the sense in fingerless gloves, unless you're starring in a production of "A Christmas Carol." The fingerless pair I wore to dig my car out of the snow recently provided no comfort at all. (Truth be told, I could not find a pair of gloves anywhere. Rather, I used one excellent ski mitten and one of two gloves I scored at a yard sale.)

The moment I put down my shovel and reached into my pocket to turn up the Black Sabbath on my iPod, my fingers fused to the back of the device. Still, I understand that not everyone can wait until he's in front of a warm fire to check his messages.

Etre's Touchy fingerless gloves (about $22 at www.etretouchy.com) only expose the thumb and index finger on each hand. That makes them a bit better than a run-of-the-mill fingerless pair, and a whole lot better than nothing.

The Touchy gloves should cover all but the tips of your fingers, somewhat minimizing the frost damage. You should be able to manipulate touchscreens on your iPhone or camcorder with the gloves, or the keys on your Blackberry or mobile phone, using only those digits.

The charcoal-colored gloves' abbreviated index finger and thumb are trimmed in blue, which gives the Touchy pair that distinct, made-for-something-electronic look. The Touchy gloves are 100 percent acrylic and machine washable.