Amazon.com Product Description

The tiny new V-90 digital voice recorder is ergonomically designed to fit snugly inside the palm of the hand. Weighing only 1.6 ounces, it stores 90 minutes of voice recordings--longer than any other digital voice recorder in its price range.

The V-90 is ideal for recording meetings, school lectures, and television or radio shows, as well as short memos, ideas, phone numbers, shopping lists, and other notes. And the V-90's small and lightweight size means it can be taken everywhere.

Recordings can be stored in two separate folders, each capable of storing 99 messages. A third folder is used as a scheduling tool, where reminders can be recorded. These recordings can be programmed to play at a certain time, creating a customized verbal alarm. ... Read more

Features

• 90-minute recording time
• 3 folders for organizing messages
• Record your own alarm
• LCD display
• Lightweight, ergonomic design

Reviews (24)

Easy to use - good sound in 33 minute mode
I just picked this up on a whim at a different store. They have a 90 day return policy.

Without cracking the book I understood how to record,playback, change quality settings, set the clock etc. Very easy to understand the basic functions. Read the 25 page manual to get the advanced tips and features.

I found the long play mode to be difficult to listen to. I could understand myself, especially if I spoke right into the microphone, but it was tedious listening. The 33 minute mode sounded just fine.

I really like the voice activated recording. It turns off after 1 second of silence and reactivates instantly. It never cut off the beginning of a sentence - very nifty. This results in your 33 minutes capturing quite a bit of information since silent spots are 1 second max.

Use the "Hold" button to avoid the problems some of the reviewers have mentioned about accidental recording. Their VCR's are probably blinking 12:00 right now. It's hard for me to understand how anyone could have that problem.

Functionally it really only has 2 folders to store regular messages because the the third folder "S" is intended for scheduled messages. You can still use it like the other two folders, but it only holds 15 messages per day and is not quite as easy to navigate.

It's a little small for my hand. A rectangular shape would probably fit me better, but it's really not an issue.

I still may take it back if I find a unit with better quality long play sound - but this unit does what it's supposed to do.

It's cool looking...a real conversation starter, and small enough to tuck in any pant or shirt pocket. You'll keep it with you, but you might forget it's there :-)

Great little gadget
This recorder is an excellent piece of electronics. It is easy to use, and has some handy features such as pause (while recording in the same message), fast playback, hold (to prevent inadvertant button operation), and forward or back skip. Holding in the stop key allows one to see how much recording time is left. The erase button is indented to avoid accidents, and the user is prompted to confirm any erasures with a second press.

Voice quality is great in 33 minute mode. I frequently use mine in the car with the radio on and get excellent results. In 90 min mode, however, a deep voice is hard to make out clearly (I agree with the reviewer below: a 60 min. mode would have been a good compromise).

I've used mine daily for 3 months to make brief notes. I had to change the AAA battery for the first time only recently. It gave a low battery signal and saved all my messages while I replaced the battery.

It is small enough (4.5") that I keep mine in my front pocket at all times, with the strap hanging out so I can whip it out quickly. It is very well designed and easy to operate. I have not used other digital recorders, but compared to the many microcassette recorders I've put up with, this thing is fantastic!

Exceptional!
I've had mine for over a year and I absolutely love it! It's easy to use and the play back is crisp and clear. Very well made and thought out ... the unit sits neatly in the palm of your hand allowing finger tip control. A great value and high quality product!

Died after about 9 months daily use
A great item but it quit playing back after about 9 months of use. You could get bits of the messages by holding the mode button down momentarily. The gold paint wears off carrying it in your pocket.

I really like it but it keeps breaking!
I like for form and features of this voice recorder but I have now had 2 of them break! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Olympus VN-180 digital voice recorder can be taken anywhere, weighing only 2.3 ounces, and records up to 180 minutes with built-in flash memory. Voice-activated recording mode automatically starts recording when the microphone senses sound. It's ideal for business meetings, school lectures, or personal notes. With its LCD panel, you can store, move, and save your messages in folders, or create recordings to remind you of important events. The LCD also displays recording time, voice activation mode, date and time, play mode, and battery status. ... Read more

Features

• Records up to 180 minutes in LP mode
• Built-in flash memory
• Operates on 2 AA batteries
• Voice-activated recording mode
• Weighs only 2.3 ounces

Reviews (20)

excellent for one hour use
First digital recorder for me and found this one to be excellent. It does everything it says in the standard play mode. For 180 minutes, you have to put up with quite a reduction in sound quality. But if you are recording your own voice and can be near the mike, it will easiy be recognizable. Doesn't do too well to pick up a discussion. For the one hour standard format, it is a winner with many good features. .... The weight is light and really easy to carry around. I had been using a good Lanier and will still use that for picking up groups of voices or speakers at a distance.

It's so useful ...
I'm a construction project manager. I used to go around the job site taking written notes or trying to memorize. Sure, after walking around for longer than 2 hours, I've forgotten a big part of them, or I had invested half of the time standing on my feet to take written notes. Now I just go around recording, and then write down at the office ... everything. It means that since I bought this DVR (Digital Voice Recorder)I am more productive. It's worth every penny ...

cute device missing on the Titanic
The VN90 is a cute device that looks like a cell phone but feels like a light plastic toy
i have mine for more than a year and it still works. Unlike tapes, digital is magic and seems it will last forever. I wish they were playing with these on the Titanic so we could listen to old conversations and notes from the past, provided they were left in air pockets, a posting says it does not survive washmachine :-(

i use it a lot! i also still use paper notes, it's a competition
voice notes are easier to take, like during a hike, and much safer while driving
taking a phone number or an address is so convienient
then at the end of day i can just review latest messages, add more when going to bed and have a more relaxed sleep (except when i come accross a rush note where I do not understand myself anymore)

i regret the ergonomy; all buttons feel the same so it is still necessary to look at the device quiclky to operate it and at night some dim light is necessary
the size is good (nice fit in hand) but i wish a mini version existed that i can attach to my keychain along with my car alarm, always
the device is easy to use, sturdy, and the 2 batteries last almost forever
note that at replacement messages are NOT lost
i like the 3 folders A,B,C capability and the fact that folder C has date-month compartiments is great, though it takes forever to review messages in these 365 boxes the sound is of pretty good quality (i wish my answ machine had such a sound, so i can record music in my greeting) An when it's not clear it's because there was noise around. Unfortunately there's no feature 'record my voice but not the background noise of the street or restaurant'
the device has no computer link capability. Too bad, it would
be nice to put some 'voicessages' on hard disk.

now a few tips if you have one:
tip1: write your phone number on it on the back. This way i lost and recovered mine one day. Think that the recorder with messages of sentimental value on it is then worth much more than the original cost.
other tip: deposit some wax glue dots on the buttons (eg 1 blop on play and 2 blops on stop, imitating braille) so you can operate the device without looking at it
tip3: the microphone is not on the front but on the back! still talk as if it was on the front. However when recording on a phone handset (for example i am in Paris in a phone booth remotely reading an important message and need a copy on my olympus) please apply the back (the tiny area with 2 grooves above the word battery) on the speaker of the handset, and your ear on top of this like a sandwich. You can then hangup and replay at no cost. Works great.

Peice Of Crep
I Bought this peace of crip to record different things that I hear. It only records fuzz. I hate this piece of plastic. It cost me a few dollars to buy, and when I record sounds that I hear, it distorts them and makes them sound like flatulance. I can not believe that this peace of crud works so badly. Don't buy it. It should burn!

A 67 minutes recorder
I bought this recorder because it can record 180 minutes. There are three recording modes. For 180 minutes, you have to put up with very poor sound quality. The sound of standard play mode is excellent, but only record 67 minutes. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The handy Olympus Voice-Trek VN-900 features a compact, lightweight design with three scalable recording modes. You'll get high-value storage with a maximum of 90 minutes recording time from 8 MB of built-in flash memory. The recorder weighs just 2.3 ounces and is designed to sit snugly in the palm of your hand.

With its lengthy recording time, the VN-900 is ideal for weekend seminars, extended discussions, recording meetings, school lectures, or study groups, as well as for short memos, ideas, phone numbers, shopping lists, and other notes. The unit combines smart styling with four folders so you can arrange files according to personalized subjects such as "work," "personal," and "to do." A fourth folder (scheduling folder) is used to sort recordings by date, letting you recall the day's meetings, expenses, and reminders for easy on-the-go retrieval. Each folder stores up to 100 messages. Up to 20 alarms can also be programmed for meeting, dates, show reminders, or wake-up calls. Simply press the button when hearing the alarm beep to hear the pre-recorded reminder.

The unit offers a built-in condenser microphone, and a .125-inch microphone jack gives you the option to use a high-quality external mic (not included). A .125-inch earphone jack lets you monitor your files during or after recording.

The VN-900 has three recording modes: HQ mode (for the best possible quality recording and 22 minutes available recording time); SP mode (for a high-quality recording and 33 minutes available recording time); and LP mode (for the most possible recording capacity, with 90 minutes available recording time).

An LCD display lets you check remaining recording time, date and time, voice-activation mode, play mode (HQ/SP/LP), microphone sensitivity (HI/LO), and battery status. Other features include voice activation for hands-free recording and easy deletion of one or all messages in a folder. The VN-900 uses the ADPCM (Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation) recording format.

What's in the Box
Voice recorder, 2 AAA batteries, pocket clip, user's manual, warranty information. ... Read more

Features

• 4 folders for organizing and storing notes, with up to 100 messages able to be stored per folder
• Up to 20 customizable alarms
• LCD display shows remaining record time, date, time, voice-activation mode, play mode, mic sensitivity, and battery status
• Voice activation lets the VN-900 begin recording when the microphone senses sound (hands-free recording)

Reviews (7)

Perfect little number
This is a supa little recording device. Very compact and easy to use. I agree that the LP mode is rather crap, but it does work for emergency long recordings (if you were say kidnapped and held in a small box and needed to record what the criminals were saying). The HQ mode is cool tho, offering 22mins of hi-quality recording time.

I mainly use it for recording ideas for tunes that I have whilst away from my Mac, so 22 mins is easily long enough. Much better than trying to remember a tune in you head until you get home.

Great size, good price. LP quality not usable
I recommend this voice recorder. The size is excellent. I carry it everywhere in my pocket and use it everyday at least once. Haven't had to change the batteries yet after 3 months of use. It's easy to use, easy to organize your recordings and will keep track of when you recorded them (date and time). It doubles as a pocket clock for those without a wristwatch.

You can even keep it by your bedside and use it at night if you have to make a note. The REC button is easy to locate and there's a small red light for when it's recording. The voice detection feature works well, too (it stops recording during periods of silence). You can turn on distinctive beeps in the menu, which could work pretty well for the visually impaired.

The reason I rated it 4 stars instead of 5 stars is because it claims 90 minutes of recording time at LP, when SP (33 min) and HQ (15 min?) are the only modes that produce voice recordings you can actually understand. If you think you need more than 30 minutes, go for the model with more recording time.

Powerfull Little Device!
I've had this recorder for almost a year. I've dropped it, gotten it wet, and it's still ticking! Never had any problems with it; it's been a huge asset in my record keeping. I HIGHLY recommend this recorder!!!

Excellent choice for the casual user!
This is a fantastic product. I bought one for my Father-in-law and liked it so much I just had to buy one for myself! It's small enough to slip easily into my pocket so it's always available. I use it for to-do lists, short personal memos, and to dictate correspondence. I couldn't be more pleased!

Perfect product, but misrepresented
The VN900 is a wonderful product. It is the smallest of kind, easy to use, has powerful extra features like programmable alarms to help you remember when and what to do on a busy day. The battery consumption is nill, much lower than some competative products. It suits my purposes perfectly.

but . . .

It does NOT record 90 minutes of voice. In LP mode the sound quality is SOOO poor that it is USELESS. Ninety minutes of muffled incomprehensible noise is perfectly USELESS, a stupid choice on the part of Olympus. The medium and high quality modes are quite good, but you only get 33 and 22 minutes! Folks, this model should be called VN330, not VN900 ... Read more

Features

• External Jack
• Cue/Review, Quick Review
• Built-In Microphone, Built-In Dynamic Speaker
• Dual Tape Speeds, Pocket Size

Amazon.com Product Description

The Olympus VN-90 digital voice recorder can be taken anywhere, weighingonly 2.3 ounces, and records up to 90 minutes with built-in flash memory. Itsvoice-activated recording mode automatically starts recording when themicrophone senses sound. It's ideal for business meetings, school lectures, orpersonal notes. The VN-90 lets you move and save your messages in folders orcreate recordings to remind you of important events. The LCD displays recordingtime, voice activation mode, date and time, play mode, and battery status. ... Read more

Features

• Records up to 90 minutes in LP mode
• Built-in flash memory
• Operates on 2 AAA batteries
• Voice-activated recording mode
• Weighs only 2.3 ounces

Reviews (20)

excellent for one hour use
First digital recorder for me and found this one to be excellent. It does everything it says in the standard play mode. For 180 minutes, you have to put up with quite a reduction in sound quality. But if you are recording your own voice and can be near the mike, it will easiy be recognizable. Doesn't do too well to pick up a discussion. For the one hour standard format, it is a winner with many good features. .... The weight is light and really easy to carry around. I had been using a good Lanier and will still use that for picking up groups of voices or speakers at a distance.

It's so useful ...
I'm a construction project manager. I used to go around the job site taking written notes or trying to memorize. Sure, after walking around for longer than 2 hours, I've forgotten a big part of them, or I had invested half of the time standing on my feet to take written notes. Now I just go around recording, and then write down at the office ... everything. It means that since I bought this DVR (Digital Voice Recorder)I am more productive. It's worth every penny ...

cute device missing on the Titanic
The VN90 is a cute device that looks like a cell phone but feels like a light plastic toy
i have mine for more than a year and it still works. Unlike tapes, digital is magic and seems it will last forever. I wish they were playing with these on the Titanic so we could listen to old conversations and notes from the past, provided they were left in air pockets, a posting says it does not survive washmachine :-(

i use it a lot! i also still use paper notes, it's a competition
voice notes are easier to take, like during a hike, and much safer while driving
taking a phone number or an address is so convienient
then at the end of day i can just review latest messages, add more when going to bed and have a more relaxed sleep (except when i come accross a rush note where I do not understand myself anymore)

i regret the ergonomy; all buttons feel the same so it is still necessary to look at the device quiclky to operate it and at night some dim light is necessary
the size is good (nice fit in hand) but i wish a mini version existed that i can attach to my keychain along with my car alarm, always
the device is easy to use, sturdy, and the 2 batteries last almost forever
note that at replacement messages are NOT lost
i like the 3 folders A,B,C capability and the fact that folder C has date-month compartiments is great, though it takes forever to review messages in these 365 boxes the sound is of pretty good quality (i wish my answ machine had such a sound, so i can record music in my greeting) An when it's not clear it's because there was noise around. Unfortunately there's no feature 'record my voice but not the background noise of the street or restaurant'
the device has no computer link capability. Too bad, it would
be nice to put some 'voicessages' on hard disk.

now a few tips if you have one:
tip1: write your phone number on it on the back. This way i lost and recovered mine one day. Think that the recorder with messages of sentimental value on it is then worth much more than the original cost.
other tip: deposit some wax glue dots on the buttons (eg 1 blop on play and 2 blops on stop, imitating braille) so you can operate the device without looking at it
tip3: the microphone is not on the front but on the back! still talk as if it was on the front. However when recording on a phone handset (for example i am in Paris in a phone booth remotely reading an important message and need a copy on my olympus) please apply the back (the tiny area with 2 grooves above the word battery) on the speaker of the handset, and your ear on top of this like a sandwich. You can then hangup and replay at no cost. Works great.

Peice Of Crep
I Bought this peace of crip to record different things that I hear. It only records fuzz. I hate this piece of plastic. It cost me a few dollars to buy, and when I record sounds that I hear, it distorts them and makes them sound like flatulance. I can not believe that this peace of crud works so badly. Don't buy it. It should burn!

A 67 minutes recorder
I bought this recorder because it can record 180 minutes. There are three recording modes. For 180 minutes, you have to put up with very poor sound quality. The sound of standard play mode is excellent, but only record 67 minutes. ... Read more

Features

• SP and LP recording modes
• LCD panel display to check recording mode, remaining recording time, date and time
• Voice-activation for hands-free recording
• Supports removable SmartMedia cards for up to 22 hours of recording time
• Includes USB cable

Reviews (5)

I liked this recorder.
I used this recorder to record class lectures. In the small room that I used it in, the microphone worked very well. However, I was going to buy a nice external microphone if my recorder hadn't gotten fried (more below). I got the DS-2000 not only because it was from Olympus, but because one can use smart media to get more memory-- Olympus says it gets 22 hours or so on 64 mb of memory but not really--- you have to use the bad quality recording mode to get that much. I couldn't work with the bad quality recording mode-- it was just too bad for me.

All in all it was a good recorder. I did notice beeps in the recording occasionally (and with another Olypus recorder) but it was not at all frequent and not really a problem. The DS-2000 has a nice layout with easy to use tools.

Mine worked very well untill I plugged it into a car power adapter that I had in my car cigarette lighter. After a few seconds, for some reason, the electronics in the recorder started to burn and now it doesn't record right. I was hoping it was the memory card that got broken, but I might have to get a new recorder. If I do have to get a new recorder, I was probably going to get an Olympus DM-1. It is mostly the same as the DS-2000, I think, but with a better sound system and a few other features. I really plan to one day get a recorder that records in 44Kbps or more. The DS-2000 uses I think 12 Kbps in its best quality mode. I am going to wait until the prices come down on those, though.

Thank you for reading all of this.
Bottom line: The DS-2000 was a good recorder, but I would probably buy the DM-1 if I had to buy another recorder right away. I would buy an external microphone (though I have never used one). It seems to me that that might help in the recording quality. Eventually, I am going to get a recorder that has the highest recording quality I can afford (44Kbps or more)(I think the Olympus DM-90 currently has good quality).

Does what it claims to do
and is very good at it. I really like the VCVA feature. You can control the sensivity as well. Also the switch for dictation vs conference is very useful as well. Awesome/fast tech support. Had few questions about the software, and got them all answered in 5 mins.

The most important thing about digital voice recorders is: they should be easy to control and navigate. I must say DS-2000 is very easy to control and use.

Wish List:
It would be awesome if the software had the capability to export to mp3 format.

Good technology - durablity could be better
I've bought analog recorders for years and constantly been disappointed in the microphone quality, not to mention the annoyance of dealing with tapes. If you want quality you have to pay for it, and you pretty much get it with this product. In my case I was able to set it on a table and pick up presentation style audio more than 15 feet away (assumes the individuals were projecting, but not shouting). The playback was quite clear. The size, weight and functionality are good. The MP3 playback was nice, but dedicated MP3 players will always have better features.

My only complaint is that after more than a year, the price doesn't seem to have come down much. Considering that Olympus sells an improved DM-1 model for a similar amount, I would've expected a lower price for this.

I originally gave this product 4 stars, but after using it moderately for 10 months, have lowered it to 3 stars. My reason is that in less than a year, the headphones plug has malfunctioned so that audio only works in one ear, and to my surprise, the speaker stopped working. I understand that expensive electronics such as this can be fragile. But my advice to anyone purchasing this is to handle with care and keep your receipt and packaging ready.

Excellent for dictation
I use mine for medical dictation over internet. It has more memory than you will ever use. USB download is much, much faster than previous recorders with serial download (earlier Olympus models). Much better than tape machines: 1) longer battery life 2) don't have to buy microrecorder tapes ever again 3) file management better and faster (ie search, erase, playback).

AT ($$$), YOU WASTE ABOUT $200
Digital is so much better, right? Well, this misstep from Olympus didn't sound any better at all than my Olympus analog (microcassette) recorder. There was a very noticeable hiss during playback, and in order to hear my recording without laying the speaker almost directly against my ear, I had to turn the volume up past the point of distortion. Consider the fact that I am a Pentecostal preacher, and you might get the idea. As loudly as I speak, I shouldn't have to turn the thing up so high. This wouldn't be bad for a $50 recorder, but at ($$$), this is just a couple steps below robbery! I used the highest quality mode, and both high and low mic sensitivity, but the results were just not acceptable. It was on its way back within 72 hours. I liked the size, weight and the features, but the poor playback, combined with the low-wattage speaker, killed this recorder for me, at least at it's retail price. It's one strong feature is that you can connect it directly to a PC (no need for a card reader), but again, that just wasn't enough to save it from the return process.
Olympus makes the best ANALOG recorders, by my ears, but digitally, they have left much to be desired. If you want to spend ($$$) on a digital recorder, I'd highly recommend the Sony ICD-MS1. Same price (the one without the voice recognition software), basically the same features (except direct PC connection), but much better sound, I mean very much better. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Olympus DS-320 digital voice recorder, with its 16 MB of built-in memory, will grant you up to 320 minutes of recording time. Its voice-activated recording mode automatically starts recording when the microphone sensessound, making it ideal for business meetings, school lectures, or personal notes. The VN-90 lets you move and save your messages in two different folders (99 messages per folder), and partial erase lets you erase one message at a time or an entire folder at once. The LCD displays recording time, voice-activation mode, date and time, play mode, and battery status. The DS-320 even includes IBM ViaVoice 8.0 speech recognition software for simple PC speech-to-text conversion (USB cable not included). ... Read more

Reviews (2)

THE WORST
I don't know where to begin with this product. I spent WEEKS trying to get this to work with voice recognition and the only result was my computer crashing - several times. The customer service at Olympus was USELESS as they kept telling me it was the software and the software company kept telling me it was Olympus. I finally returned it and settled on desktop version of Dragon Naturally Speaking. I don't have the mobility that I wanted, but I sure do have FEWER HEADACHES.

Handy recorder, excellent quality
Excellent voice quality on this digital recorder. Saving files onto your PC is a snap with the serial or USB cables. Use the software that comes with it to edit the recordings and then save them to WAV files that can be played on any system. The data compression is excellent -- the sound files are small and can be emailed or put onto floppy disk. ... Read more

Features

• Uses standard microcassette tapes
• Auto reverse provides uninterrupted recording
• Dual tape speeds for longer recording time
• Cue/review for fast, easy message monitoring
• Auto shut-off feature conserves battery power

Reviews (3)

Nice product
I found this recorder very good. I'm very much satisfied with its mic sensitivity and play back. Most importantly the auto reverse feature it has, came good during my lecture hours. It also makes very less noise. No hangups of any sort. Even though it doesn't have an AC adapter slot, it doesn't matter as I don't use it anyway (who does for portable recorder). Anyways, it's an exellent product and em very much satisfied with it.

a nice product, but...no external mic jack
I bought this recorder specifically because it has the auto-reverse feature -- which I have had a hard time finding in microcassette recorders. I didn't even think to double-check to see if this unit had an external mic jack, assuming that was standard on all recorders. (My old one has it.) It seems like a nice product, but since I do many telephone interviews, it was useless for me. FYI the Model S725 (...) supposedly has an external mic jack (this info is from the manual).

OK but not great
The price is a bit steep but I think overall it is a good product i gueuss it's as good as any. But i usually go for cheaper things! ... Read more

Features

• Dual tape speeds give you up to three hours of recording time on a 90-minute tape
• Variable Control Voice Actuator for Hands-Free Recording
• Tape Counter for Easy Location of Previously-Recorded Passages
• Cue/review, built-in microphone & speaker, external jacks for earphone, microphone & external power

Reviews (1)

Disappointing for sure
The tape recorder did a poor job with picking up sound. The sound on the microcassette recorder was muffled and didn't do a good job picking sounds in a classroom, especially if the speaker is using a microphone. If you are looking for a top of the line recorder, I strongly recommend going with Sony ... Read more