Yes , I am speaking of the ubiquitous plethora of small MTR recorders that have flooded the market .

Pro's , 
#1  Portability , and space saving , most are USB enabled , and use SD cards or CF , or there own Hard Disc so they dont need to be connected to a computer to operate .

2 Cost , they can be had VERY cheaply ( the sound is reflective of price)

3 because they are cheap , they arent as intimidating to a beginner ( that doesnt neccesarily mean the are easy to operate)

Cons

1 Most of them sound like crap , and the ones that do sound good , need a mic preamp to get there.

( notice there is only one real con here , I will explain later )

All of the Home recording units ( ALLLLLLL OF THEM ) are idea machines at best on their own ( just using that machine and no ther attachments  to sweeten it up .

The reason is , the input stages . To make a nice input stage or Mic preamp , takes some doing , and cost's money   . If you google Mic Pre's and look at the variety and the prices , you will quickly understand

The recording process actually isnt that hard to make nowadays , The actual capturing has gotten very good. It is just getting the Microphones  to a level the recorder can live with.

Lets take for example , the Boss BR -600 , I have one ( of many others ) It has Balanced inputs ( that is very cool) but if you hook up a mic that need phantom power , ... you get nothing.  Preamp required.
  Also the levels of most Dynamic mics ( dont need Phantom) isnt high enough to really drive the inputs , the result is HISS , or White noise , when you crank up the mic input gain . 
 The third kind of mic "Self Powered Condenser ( some of these are very nice ) , also operate at a certain level , and the input of the Boss just doesnt reach down that low  The results are a very thin sound .

The Boss as well as others record in a "Compressed Format"  in order to save file size , but that also decreases "Dynamic Range"  you can REALLY hear the difference . So dont get overwhelmed with just the idea "Wow I can actually record myself"   train your ears to Really listen .

Use a Nice mic preamp with practically any of the small recorders , they will sound a hundred times better , no kidding .

Now we can seperate the Packs , Compressed , and Uncompressed , there is a BIG difference

Uncompressed Audio , requires SPACE , and a lot of it , so you have Hard Disc , based recorders , ( but even that is changing ) the problem here is the same PLUS the noise of the Hard Drive , and associated fans to cool the drive inside the machine .

So you need a Barrier or a Wall between the machine and the mic . to isolate  the noise , ......... and a Mic pre , to get the mic up to a level where you actually have "Dynamic Range"..( that phrase just keeps popping up !) 

Hard Drive VS  Flash Based  ....  Dah Dah DAAAAAAA 
In This corner , weighing in at 40000 Gigabytes and 16 Tracks of UNCOMPRESSED AUDIO , with 9 million menu options !!! 
theeeee  " GIGA TRACKERRRRRRR"

In this corner , at a Measley 8 Tracks of Crappy Compressed Audio…...

well you see where that goes .

Uncompressed is very nice , But just HOW much do you need? 

Are you a FULL band with many pieces ? are you a Solo performer with simple ideas. or are you somewhere in between ?

Having a little more than you need is nice , having TO MUCH more can be a turn off , and then you dont get anything done . Dont fall into the trap of Just OWNING a Recorder , the Idea is to get something you will actually use. So get a Good sense of what you song ideas really need .

Write out the ideas in your head on a notepad , what instruments you hear , what harmonies you hear , even the most simple idea need mapping to keep it and not lose it .

Then just how technically incline are you , be HONEST with yourself , or you will regret it .  Buying something that has a bazillion bells and whistles will only frustrate you if you dont know how to use them .
 Owners Manuals can get HUGE and most of the time are badly written .
So undersatnd what you need before you go looking .

If you are and electric guitarist , The Boss Micro BR is almost a must have , I have had one , but I didnt see the need for both the BR-600 and the MicroBR when they have the same effects in them .

The guitar sound rock , Jazz tones nice and clean , etc etc .
but the Mic inputs …........ suck ! the best way to hook a mic to the Micro BR is either a Mic pre to the Line input , and make all needed adjustments. or a XLR to 1/4 Transfomer High impedance adapter to the Guitar input , and use the Mastering effect instead of guitar effects.

The BR600 is the same way , the Mic inputs just dont cut it , but the guitar sounds and drum machine make up for it . so use a Mic pre .

Zoom , Korg ,Boss all have both Flash based and hard drive based and all of them need a Mic pre to make them sound good

now the REAL info , what Kind of sound do you want your inputs to have ? A very Natural sound , a FAT sound , different models have different input stages , and throughout audio history , Names have been made based on the sound of the equipment .

Michael Hedges : "Aerial Boundaries "  was recorded on a Tascam 16 Channel analouge mixing board with Sennheiser mics , and some seperate mic pre's , and the Sunrise pickup system on his guitar .

The results were HUGE , ... so is the price tag of the equipment  .
Can you get THAT sound , hmmmm   technology has come a LOOOONG way , but , there are tricks to learn , you might not get exactly that sound but you can get pretty darn close , or if you aim a diferrent direction maybe better !

Checkout Candyrat records online , and view some of the videos , look at the mics that are used and how stuff was recorded .

If you want to catch ideas , you only need a machine .
If you want to make a CD , you need to get a Sound that matches the ideas before you get to the CD , other wise it will be a dissapointment to you as well as others .

Right now , one of my Favorite machines , is the Tascam DP-02CF

8 Tracks , CF card based , Uncompressed  Audio ( which means for CF only 1 or two songs at a time ) and VERY simple controls , a very FAT sound on the input stage ( but alas , it too REALY needs a preamp to get the mics up to a decent level )

All being said ,...... dont go for the Cheapest thing there , ....also dont fall for a sales pitch , take the time to research different machines ( downloadable owners manuals are a lifesaver , read before you buy) 

Make sure you buy what you will USE , so the world can hear you !