RADIO YOURWAY by Pogo Products
PoGo products bills their new Radio YourWay is the first portable, solid-state AM/FM radio recorder! Imagine being able to record any radio broadcast like news, sports, or music and then be able to play those recordings back at a more convenient time. Some would say it's an attempt at creating a "Radio TiVo."

Recording is as simple as pressing one red button. Programming Radio YourWay to record a particular broadcast like a VCR is easy to learn considering the buttons are rather cryptic for this purpose. But once you get it down, it's a simple matter to navigate the easy to read LCD display and set it up to record daily or weekly programs. A USB cable is provided to transfer files between Radio YourWay and your computer, so that users can store voice recordings or radio broadcasts. MP3 files can even be transferred to Radio YourWay to enjoy making it's credit card size idea for taking along on a jog, the treadmill, or activities.

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Radio YourWay features 10 Station Pre-Sets, the ability to record over 4 hours of AM or FM broadcast, recording Voice Messages using the built-in microphone, a LINE-IN recording from any external audio source (CD, Cassette Players, TV, etc...) recording, connect to your PC USB port for the transferring of files, it can also plays MP3 and WMA files. Electronica Radio is a tad puzzled as to why one can play MP3, but not record in it, but the recorder does do a fine job.

RYW can even be used to transfer and store files as a sort of mini hard drive- but thumbdrives can carry more and hook to a keychain.

Radio YourWay is a great idea: a VCR for a pocket radio. But what it gains it's timeshifting ability to record Rush Limbaugh, it loses in it's storage capacity. In an era of 20 gigabite iPods, Radio YourWay only stores 32 MB of files - with a max bitrate of 32 mpbs. This means that a user can only record one complete talk show before having to off load onto a computer hard drive to prepare for the next show - and that's at the extended quality of 16 mbps. That's rather self defeating if wanting to record a entire day's worth of radio. In all fairness though, users can add an optional flash memory stick to augment the 32MB onboard memory, and that's at least something.

Additionally, the built-in "hi-quality speaker" is a bit of a stretch. Sure, it's much better than a transistor radio speaker from the 60s, but HiQuality should be reserved for the bud headphones that come with the unit - which have a nice quality to them.

Radio YourWay is still a great idea, and Electronica-philes should take notice. But at a price of $149.99, Electronica Radio would like to see storage capability more in line with what the iPod has established as an industry standard.

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