Apparently the Belkin folks are rolling out a little something for the podcasting community this CES season. The company's Podcast Studio is a self-contained, iPod-interfacing podcast production device... and not much else. The unit features dual XLR and 1/4" inputs, a built-in microphone up top, an embedded speaker, and the styling of some 1950's-space-opera transmogrifier. You can slot your iPod in the top and record directly to the player, thus eliminating the need for a computer nearby -- until you need to get it online, of course. The only thing it's missing is your smarmy, high-falutin' opinions about avant noise-rock.

You know, sometimes you want a preamp, but not too much preamp. Well, CEntrance has got you all-kinds of covered on that tip with its new, self-contained, microphone-attaching, USB-based MicPort Pro. The premise of the device is simple: it turns any single microphone or instrument into a self-powered, single channel, 24-bit / 96KHz audio interface -- all you have to do is hook it up to your computer with the supplied USB cable. The MicPort also features a headphone out, if you want to create the wackiest closed-loop situation ever, though it looks like the company is intending this for podcasters and the like, given that it allows any and all XLR-based mics to be plugged directly into your USB port. Shipping now (or so the company says) for $149.95.

[Via Harmony Central]

Alright peoples, it's official: podcasting isn't just for us geeks anymore. While some American and German politicians have recently taken up podcasting as the newest way to reach out to younger voters, it appears that the Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is now jumping on the podwagon as well. In addition to more traditional terrestrial broadcasting, Her Royal Highness Majesty will be making her annual Christmas message to the Commonwealth at 3:00 pm GMT (that's 10:00 am US Eastern time) on Monday, December 25 available as a podcast to all those who really want to hear her opine away. Given that Liz apparently has an iPod (as of 2005 it was an iPod mini), a cellphone (no word on what kind), and a boatload of new TVs, we're sure that any day now we'll start seeing emails in our tip box from queen@royal.gov.uk.

[Via Futurismic]

You probably remember our post this past weekend citing a Wired Listening Post story which claimed that Apple was trying to claim ownership of the word "podcast"; we even got -- OMG -- Slashdotted. Well, Wired Listening Post has now printed Apple's letter to the company in question, Podcast Ready, and it seems that the real situation is a bit murkier than our original post might have led you to believe. While Steve and friends are definitely gung-ho about Podcast Ready abandoning the use of "myPodder" for its automation software (claiming that it is "very similar phonetically to Apple's iPod mark and appears to have been chosen intentionally to capitalize on the fame and goodwill of Apple's marks"), the letter goes on to say that "Apple, of course, has no general objection to proper use of the descriptive term 'podcast' as part of a trademark for goods and services offered in the podcasting field." What it basically comes down to is this: Apple objects to "Podcast Ready" trademark applications which cover "portable listening devices" and "software to manage digital content for portable media players," but is fine with an application for that branding which only refers to podcasting in general. It's still confusing as hell, since it's not entirely obvious where one would draw the line between "podcasting in general" and podcasting as it relates to portable listening devices and software for managing podcasts for portable media devices, but either way what is very clear is that Apple is determined to protect its turf and prevent anyone from using the words "pod" and "podcast" in any manner they believe might possibly infringe on its trademarks.

[Via MacRumors]

Now that Apple's lawyers have scared the pants off of small entrepreneurs selling products like the Profit Pod and TightPod -- items that have nothing to with portable audio in any way, mind you -- it seems that the next targets are companies that have the audacity to use the word "podcast" in their names. Wired's Listening Post blog is reporting that Steve's legal eagles have sent one of those scary cease and desist letters to a company called Podcast Ready, whose premier product, myPodder, gives users an automated way to download 'casts to their portable devices. CEO Russel Holliman claims that he'd consider changing the name of the program if necessary, but seems to be justifiably reticent about rebranding his entire business, considering the fact that "podcast" may not be "owned" by Apple nor even a derivative of "iPod" in the first place. Robert Scoble -- whose own company, PodTech, may be at risk in this witch hunt -- has weighed in on the issue by suggesting that the tech community as a whole adopt other terms like "audiocast" and "videocast" (or alternately, "audcast" and "vidcast") to describe this type of content, while other folks feel that fighting Apple and generating a ton of negative press for Cupertino is the best solution. Our take? Apple should be happy that its golden goose is getting so much free publicity, and if it isn't, we know of several companies that probably wouldn't mind if zencast, zunecast, or sansacast became the preferred terminology.

Update: BBHub's own Russell Shaw delves into this issue a little further over at ZDnet, and finds that Apple is having trouble getting certain iPod-related phrases trademarked, including the word "iPodcasting."

Read- Apple's nastygram
Read- Scoble's take
[Via calacanis.com]

Hurrah hurrah! To all our Engadget Podcast listeners who've suffered through the months without an AAC or Ogg feed, we thank you -- and we've heard your complaints. As we mentioned earlier this week, we've got our feeds sorted for the three major audio formats, so you can now have our show dropped in via RSS in your choice of MP3, enhanced AAC, or Ogg Vorbis. iTunes subscribers' feeds will automatically be switched over to enhanced AAC (or you can subscribe to the AAC feed directly if you don't want to use iTunes but want our enhanced AAC podcasts).

So, as soon as our feeds are re-cached and re-crawled by RSS, we'll throw up our latest podcast for today and get the show on the road. In the mean time, we apologize if for some reason your shows start re-downloading as we're retooling our feeds. Thanks for listening, everybody!

P.S. -If for some reason you're having difficulties or seeing problems, please leave a comment below, we'll get on it. And yes, we know there are iTunes tags in all our feeds right now, we're working on that.

Get the podcast
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[RSS OGG] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.

We're back! Again! Yes, we're quite sorry for the delayed program (listen in to find out a bit why), but there's no dearth of news to discuss. Fresh from Apple's big WWDC 2006 kickoff event we've got the long predicted and somewhat jejune Mac Pro, the Cinema Display bumps, and some interesting tidbits on Leopard, including Time Machine -- which Ryan sorely needed this week. Sony also pulled a fast one on us with the mylo, an intriguing and beguiling new WiFi handheld that seems to compete more with the PSP than anything else. Also hot off the presses is Engadget Mobile's scoop on the BlackBerry Pearl, RIM's new mobile consumer foray, and their first with a camera, removable media, and media playback capabilities. Thanks for welcoming us back, and enjoy!

Get the podcast
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[RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] Download the show (MP3).
[AAC] Download the enhanced show (AAC).
[OGG] Download the show (OGG).

Hosts: Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

Producer: Trent Wolbe

Music: Solvent - Instructograph (Ghostly International)

Format: 1:00:15, 27.6 MB, MP3

Program:
6:05 - Apple WWDC 2006
6:48 - Mac Pro hands-on
7:03 - Apple OS X 10.5 "Leopard" officially debuts
15:56 - Sony launches mylo
27:51 - The BlackBerry Pearl
44:00 - Listener emails

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

After nearly two months hiding out in the wilderness, the Engadget podcast returns! This week we're on a strictly portable tip. We've got some hot-off-the-presses scoops on Microsoft's Zune -- its forthcoming iPod-hunting wireless audio/video media player. T-Mobile customers also finally get their hands on the Sidekick 3, Peter discusses his new relationship with the Treo 700p, and Palm announces a new Windows Media Treo for the European market. We'll be taking another brief break as Pete heads to Europe to hit up the Amsterdam meetup (and take a much needed vacation) but the Podcast is back, no doubt about it.

Get the podcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
[RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] Download the show (MP3).
[AAC] Download the enhanced show (AAC).
[OGG] Download the show (OGG).

Host: Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

Producer: Trent Wolbe

Music: Solvent - Instructograph (Ghostly International)

Format: 44:33, 20.4 MB, MP3

Program:
07:28 - Microsoft's media player dubbed Zune
25:24 - Sidekick 3 available to current T-Mobile customers
28:55 - Pete gets a 700p
33:06 - Palm announces WM5-powered Treo for Vodafone
21:34 - Record labels sue XM over Inno recording
30:00 - Sony gets official on new Vaio UX Micro PC
38:28 - Engadget Reader Meetup in Amsterdam on July 20th

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

Speaking of first birthdays, it's already been a whole year since Apple "legitimized" Podcasting and added it as a standard feature to iTunes. Remember how we debuted at number three? How awesome was that? Well, we had to give a little shout, since they listed Peter and I among their pioneers of Podcasting, recognized on their iTunes 4.9's first birthday. Check it out here -- and if you haven't already subscribed to the Engadget Podcast do so here: subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3), or add the Engadget Podcast RSS feed to your aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).

What a week for product launches! Seems like out of the gate past E3 everybody wanted to get theirs out the door: Apple loosed the MacBook, Motorola and Verizon launched the Q, Sprint and Verizon launched the Palm Treo 700p, and Sony launched their UX Micro PC. But it wasn't all rosy new toys for everyone to play with, Creative and Apple are heading to court to go toe to toe over some patents, as apparently is XM and Pioneer over the RIAA-contestable recording capabilities of the Inno. Tune in to find out how it all unfurls on this week's Engadget Podcast!

Get the podcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
[RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] Download the show (MP3).
[AAC] Download the enhanced show (AAC).
[OGG] Download the show (OGG).
[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Host
Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

Producer
Randall Bennett

Music
J J J - 'Suits' in Japan

Format
1:00:46, 27.8 MB, MP3

Program
01:00 - Motorola and Verizon announce Q: $199
04:44 - Treo 700p announced
08:48 - Apple's MacBook: 13-in, Core Duo, black and white
17:26 - Creative sues Apple, then Apple sues Creative
21:34 - Record labels sue XM over Inno recording
30:00 - Sony gets official on new Vaio UX Micro PC
36:28 - Xbox 360 hacks: Playing backup games, and backing up games
40:01 - Listener voicemail and email
59:00 - Engadget reader meetup in Merced

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

Sony may have had their fun on Monday, but Tuesday turned out to be one of the news-packed days of the gaming year thus far. Nintendo decided to one-up Sony by adding additional speaker support for the Wiimote, demo actual Wii gameplay, and generally pump up and hype out their next console like nobody's business. Shortly thereafter Microsoft set us off with some footage of up and coming 360 titles, as well as some new periphs, including the vaguely maligned and long awaited Xbox 360 HD DVD drive. Joystiq editor Vlad Cole steps to the mic and joins Ryan for today's Engadget podcast -- one merely consisting of lengthy pontifications on the two gaming giants' moves against their respective competition.

Get the podcast
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[RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] Download the show (MP3).
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[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Host
Ryan Block

Featuring
Joystiq's Vlad Cole

Producer
Randall Bennett

Music
J J J - 'Suits' in Japan

Format
1:04:58, 29.4 MB, MP3

Program
00:00 - Nintendo's keynote
32:30 - Microsoft's keynote

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

It's our last pre-E3 podcast today, which means there's sure to be a little gaming news from Nintendo mixed in there for you to chew on, along with some Samsung Q1 UMPC goings on, our take on (and support of) Gary Shapiro and the CEA driving a stake in the ground for disenfranchised digital consumers everywhere, and some interesting news in the DVR space from TiVo and Yahoo. We'll take our usual cellphone related voicemails too (we can talk about other stuff -- promise), so listen up before the Engadget Podcast hits the mean streets of LA next week to play some games.

Get the podcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
[RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] Download the show (MP3).
[AAC] Download the show (enhanced AAC).
[OGG] Download the show (OGG).
[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Hosts
Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

Producer
Randall Bennett

Music
J J J - 'Suits' in Japan

Format
54:33, 24.7 MB, MP3

Program
00:37 - Nintendo Wii -- the Revolution gets a real name
10:53 - Nintendo to announce DS Lite pricing / release dates on Thursday?
12:52 - Samsung Q1 UMPC to go on sale May 7th for $1,100
14:31 - Eye-Fi embeds WiFi into your SD flash
18:09 - Gary Shapiro and the CEA take a stand
24:00 - Apple trying to include iPod video content on Blu-ray discs?
28:00 - Yahoo Go TV takes Meedio and does it for free
31:31 - TiVo's Series2 DT 80 and 180hour dual tuner boxes
36:13 - Listener Voicemail

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

We're a day late, but definitely not a dollar short this week. Just when we thought last week's trip out to Vegas for CTIA was going to be a bit of a bust, Apple goes and drops a bombshell on the industry in the form of the dual-bootin' Windows-enablin' Boot Camp beta software. In the mean time while we weren't pontificating what Apple's big scene-stealing news meant for the industry, we were poking around various handset makers' booths in search of such devices as Samsung's new T719, those Intel-based UMPCs, and the slew of sweet knockoffs TechFaithWireless had to showcase. We'll let you know how all that went (and more) on this week's show, so let's get to it!

Get the podcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
[RSS] Add the Engadget Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
[MP3] Download the show (MP3).
[AAC] Download the show (enhanced AAC).
[OGG] Download the show (OGG).
[Vote] Vote for us on Podcast Alley!

Hosts
Peter Rojas and Ryan Block

Producer
Randall Bennett

Music
J J J - 'Suits' in Japan

Format
41:51, 24.1 MB, MP3

Program
01:30 - Boot Camp lets Macs run Windows ... officially
14:09 - Hands on with some UMPCs
11:54 - A look at TechFaith's Moto Q knockoff
18:44 - Hands on with the RAZR V3m
22:01 - Samsung's T719
29:34 - Listener voicemail
36:15 - Engadget's involuntary entry into retail, and the week ahead

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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com