Does anyone have any suggestions for a recording solution that might allow a
student at university to take useful audio records of lectures and other
taught sessions. The solution needs to meet the following criteria:-
It produces recordings that are as clear as possible in a variety of
settings (allowing an external mike to be used if necessary).
It allows for long sessions to be recorded.
It has a clear display that shows the student how much time has gone by, so
they can annotate their notes with this and so access these parts of the
recording quickly later on.
It allows index marks to be placed while recording, for easy access to parts
of the recording later.
It has large, easy to use controls.
Very important - It allows the student to control playback using a
footswitch, making it easier to take notes afterwards e.g. when working at a
computer.
It doesn't cost a huge amount of money!

The Sony MZ-B10 minidisc recorder with footswitch controller was a good
solution but has recently been discontinued.

Any advice gratefully received!
Ian