No doubt about it, tape is on the way out. The latest mini-recorder from Sony doesn't have a cassette, but it can still record up to 16 minutes of sound. Or, it can record up to 198 messages, and shuffle them around. It also has a time counter and an alarm function.

Shaped like a teardrop, with a chrome exterior, the ICD-30 is about half the size of a standard micro recorder much easier to stash in the palm of one's hand.

While it is stylish, represents the cutting edge of digital technology, and does away with having to buy those little tapes that cost a fortune, there is one drawback to the ICD-30. Precisely because there are no tapes, it isn't practical to save a recording permanently.

Of course you could always re-record it, onto tape.