I caught an interesting post from fellow Portland blogger Pampelmoose today discussing how the future of radio is being paved by, of all places, National Public Radio. Contrary to your Luddite expectations of American Public Radio (I know, the old guys with bow ties just fuel the stereotypes), NPR seems to be at the forefront of offering the public some ground breaking technology in the otherwise antiquated radio market.

Other than the standard specifications (Audio In/Out, Alarm Clock, etc…), this Livio player features the ability to “bookmark” NPR podcasts, programs, and even affiliate stations. In addition, you have the ability to record up to two weeks of audio and transfer it near-effortlessly to standard mp3 playing devices — making radio more “on-demand”. Another cool feature is its ability to search and play over 16,000 internet based radio stations, putting standard AM/FM receivers with their geographical constraints to shame. All-in-all, this is a great get and seems to be very reasonably priced at $199.