As a former (and future) podcaster, I see no problem with that "crippling" as far as podcast audio goes.
Audio uploaded to media servers is pay-to-play. Most podcasts you hear are mp3 or similar files. I don't even think I could upload my FLAC files, but its been almost two years.
16/44 is a really good option for the audience the device is marketed to. Sure, I rendered 24/48 down, but I never thought it was worth it to record at 24/96 considering I was re-airing underrated aud copy Phish shows with brief factual commentary. The concert itself was already rendered down and paying for media server space can get pricey.
This looks like a great device for my next project... to the point where I might actually pull the trigger eventually.
edit: the only feature I feel is restrictive is recording directly to SD card. I recorded via interface using Reaper. Recording to SD cards seems like another step in the process as far as podcasting goes, but not a deal breaker.