Akai’s answer to the Korg Nano series is now shipping to all major retailers.  I know all Guitar Centers have them (or will have them soon), and the pricing on these units is pretty great.

They’re USB-bus powered, about the length of a laptop keyboard, and thin enough to fit into any sort of messenger/laptop bag you can think of. Sadly, Akai wasn’t at AES this year so I couldn’t get any good info/demos of the units, but from what I’ve seen the build quality on these Akai units seem to be much more solid than the Korg units.

Go check out your nearest retailer and check them out!