Get the latest technology in digital voice recorders, ranging from models that record from 70 minutes to 18 hours. With functions like time stamps, Auto Play Search and telephone adapters, a digital voice recorder can help keep you organized, and on the go.
Olympus, Panasonic, and others make a variety of dedicated digital voice recorders.
If you prefer to talk your way through to-do items, proposals, and e-mail, the new Olympus DM-1 Digital Voice Recorder may help. The elegant shipping model that I looked at weighed a mere 3.1 ounces, including its batteries.
After you have recorded your vocal ramblings (the recorder can hold up to 22 hours of speech), you can save the file to your computer. The device doubles as a good-sounding MP3 music player, too. But with a street price of $299, the DM-1 is expensive.
If you can live without music playback, consider the $99 Olympus DW-90, an affordable but very basic option that Olympus says can log up to 90 minutes of recorded speech.
Some models, such as the Olympus DM-10 and DM-20, can act as stereo MP3 players, too. Others, such as the Panasonic RR-US006, come with a desktop stand that has a speaker and controls for easy playback, such as fast-forward and reverse buttons. Almost all models can connect to a computer via a USB port. Typically, digital voice recorders come with software that lets you upload and download audio files between your computer and the recorder, play the recordings on your computer, rename files, and so on.
Out of the Olympus DM-20 ($290) and the Panasonic RR-US006 ($200), the Olympus recorder seems to be the easier to use out of the box. Its hardware controls are readily identifiable, and setting preferences, such as recording quality, through on-screen menus is a snap. Recording sound quality is also excellent.
With the Olympus DM-20s built-in 128MB of memory, you can record up to 44 hours in LP mode, the lowest quality setting. Keep in mind that the DM-20 is not aimed at consumers, and it isnt widely available for purchase online, according to a company spokesperson. The Olympus DM-10 ($149) is designed for consumersbut it has only 64MB of memory.
Many prefer the Panasonic RR-US006. Its recording quality isnt as good as the Olympus model; recordings were a tad fuzzy in places and not as rich. And with the ability to record only 7 hours in LP mode, the RR-US006 has nowhere near the 44-hour recording capacity of the Olympus model.
But the Panasonics desktop stand makes playback from the recorder extremely easy. Also, the RR-US006 includes Voice Editor 3, which integrates nicely with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 7.0, the leading voice recognition program.
Using the Panasonic recorder and its software, you can quickly import your voice recordings into NaturallySpeaking, which then transcribed the recordings into text.
If you plan to make lots of voice recordings and you want the best audio quality, you should consider a digital voice recorder over an MP3 player or PDA. The Olympus DM-20 is a great choice for those who want high-quality digital voice recordings but dont care about voice recognition. But if you want to transcribe your notes using voice recognition software, or you want to play your notes back easily from the recorder itself (as opposed to on your PC), go with the Panasonic RR-US006.
About The Author
Doug Rowlands has been operating his own electronics firm for the past 15 years. He has written several articles concerning Digital Video Recorders and advises how to choose the right one and what to look for when deciding on which one to buy.
You can get further information from his following site at
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