Olympus WS-300M 256 MB Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player by Olympus
|
Our Price: $189.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $44.19 (click here) Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of Olympus WS-300M 256 MB Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player
Digital camera Review: Awesome features! So-so battery life.
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought the Olympus WS-300M for my wife, but was so impressed by its features I've more-or-less kept it as my own (sorry my Dear, I'll buy you a new one, I promise ...)
Easy to use, straight-forward controls, small enough to squirrel away in almost any briefcase, pocket or purse ... and yet loaded with recording and playback features including support for external microphones and ear plugs (which I bought and use).
The digital display and user interface are a little busy and require a little time in the owner's manual to master, but after an hour or so you're up and running with a serious set of capabilities.
Love the USB interface, which allows recordings and music files to be passed very easily between the recorder and a PC (or other USB-enabled device).
My only complaint thus far is with battery life. Granted, it only uses a single AAA battery, which makes for a small overall unit, but I recently recorded a 1.5 hour conversation that pretty much killed one battery. Plan accordingly.
Overall, I highly recommend this unit to anyone that needs to routinely have a recording capability near at hand, whether to record speeches or quickly capture thoughts, to-do's or other "memo to self" thoughts.
Frankly, I didn't buy the unit to listen to music (MP3's etc.) so I can't comment on those features, but I have every reason to believe it plays back music just as well.
Digital camera Review: Bad with Dragon Naturally Speaking
Summary: 1 Stars
JUST A NOTE HERE TO AVOID CONFUSION. THIS REVIEW REFERS TO A VOICE RECORDER, NOT DNS 9. DRAGON NATURALLY SPEAKING IS AN AWESOME PROGRAM, ONE I GIVE 5 STARS. DON'T MISREAD THIS REVIEW. IT IS THE RECORDER I DISLIKE, NOT DNS 9, AND THEN FOR IT'S INABILITY TO WORK WITH DNS 9.
Before you read further, know that I just began working with this recorder. The learning curve for its use with Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS) is rather steep, for me, anyway. It has thrown me a few curves. This is written after many hours of trying to upload voice files into DNS.
Amazon offered this recorder in a package with DNS, implying that it works well with that program. Nuance, the maker of DNS, rates it highly. I don't.
While hooking it up to the USB port for training, the training wizard of DNS said the files were not compatible. This recorder uses WMA files, and DNS uses WAV files. The DNS literature said check with your digital recorder manufacturer to learn how to convert from WMA to WAV files.
I called Olympus. The technician told me to Google "WMA to WAV files" and I would find some programs to use. When I asked him which Olympus preferred, he said he had never used any of them, and that it was up to me. So much for help here.
After Google'ing and choosing one, I learned that I only had the conversion program for a trial period, and then I had to buy it. I have not gone so far as to learn the price. Regardless, this is a hidden cost.
Another, probably higher hidden cost is the time it takes to convert the files. I plan on using about 5 to 10 files a day, with plans to do more if this system works, dictating them during the day, and uploading to DNS at night. To do the conversion, however, each individual file must be converted, at several minutes per file. I have not measured the exact conversion time, but I found myself working on filing or something else while having to wait. Multiply that by 5 to 10 or more, and you have a long night.
This misses the point of using DNS. With this much work, plus editing DNS once it is uploaded, I might as well have typed it all.
DNS works great with the plug in microphone, but for dictating on the run during the day in a digital recorder (rather than carrying around my laptop), this is a bust.
By the way, I typed this review myself.
Digital camera Review: Best for the Least $
Summary: 5 Stars
I used the Olympus DVR in a variety of situations and found the range and the clarity (when used with the external microphone) to be amazing in quality of sound. I took it with me on a research trip to South America last fall. It was durable, ran a long time between battery changes, and has different recordable tracks so you never risk erasing something you want to keep to capture something else. The USB connection makes editing easy. For my research needs, this is an excellent tool. I am buying a second one this month for my own use, and recently recommended this DVR to a friend.Digital camera Review: Big product in a small package
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been very impressed with the sound quality and the capabilities of this digital recorder. Sensitive mic and direct USB plug in makes this a very versatile personal recorder. Best of all it is very small and light. Great for lectures and meetings.Digital camera Review: Can't hear playback without headphones
Summary: 2 Stars
Had I known it was almost impossible to hear playback without headphones, I would never have bought this unit. With headphones, quality is good. To use as a handheld with playback, it's useless.