For alternate methods of routing audio through the device, there's a USB port that can play digital audio files straight off of various PMPs and USB thumb drives.
You can counteract that mic placement by adding your own audio capture device thanks to the standard microphone input jack that joins HDMI and USB connectors on the left side.
The Android 4.1 device's ports include Micro HDMI, TOSLink Optical audio, Ethernet, micro AB USB (for service and support only, Google says), and banana jack speaker outputs.