Reviews for Sony ICD-B500 Digital Voice Recorder with 256 MB Built-in Flash Memory

Sony ICD-B500 Digital Voice Recorder with 256 MB Built-in Flash Memory by Sony

Sony ICD-B500 Digital Voice Recorder with 256 MB Built-in Flash Memory Our Price: $59.99
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Category: CE
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Digital camera reviews of Sony ICD-B500 Digital Voice Recorder with 256 MB Built-in Flash Memory

Digital camera Review: Sony recorder
Summary: 3 Stars

I got my sony recordable quickly. I was disappointed in the product. It doesn't come with plug in to download what you have recorded to the computer. Really wasn't what I was hoping for. It is very sensitive to noise. You need a very quiet place when recording because it picks up every little sound. I wanted it to have for record lectures in school but it is difficult to hear the lecture through the other noises in the classroom. I should have actually purchased what I was looking for in a recorder from a store in town. Decent price and not worth the cost to send it back.

Digital camera Review: pretty good sound quality
Summary: 4 Stars

This little device was pretty cheap but I must say the sound quality is better than I expected. It's also a lot easier to use than I thought it would be. The batteries last for a while too, so thats good. I would say if you need a recorder, this is really good for the price.

Digital camera Review: playback good, interface not so good
Summary: 3 Stars

This recorder is compact, easily portable, and records sound well. Some digital recorders I've used result in tinny voices without much depth, but the Sony is fairly true to natural sound. The price is also reasonable for the quality.

What I don't care for about it are the following:

- battery life seems to be short (average two months with intermittent use)

- buttons are almost flush with the casing, so you have to look at what you're doing with each recording. I would have preferred the "record" and "pause/stop" buttons to be elevated slightly so I could activate by touch.

- erasing is not that intuitive. Although you're supposed to be able to hold the erase button down firmly and erase the recording, usually I have to start playing and then press the erase button twice.

- organizing in folders seems overly complicated. I have to read the instruction book each time.


Digital camera Review: Worth the price
Summary: 4 Stars

What I like about the recorder is that is lightweighted, great size, buttons are easy to use and not complicated. Although at first I thought I was made a mistake buying it because I was always taking off the batteries to turn it off since the manual doesn't say where to "Turn off" but thanks to the comments of other members I've learned what button to use.
In short words, it was worth the price and since this is for personal use...I love it.

Digital camera Review: great recorder in language class
Summary: 4 Stars

I play this during my language class and then review the recording when I am driving. The sound quality through the built in speaker is garbled. But if you connect it to your computer speakers it sounds great. Headphones are an improvement over the built in speaker, but the volume is low. I use a tape/adapter connection when driving. I tried the downloading and found it difficult. The 80+ hours are great. It records easily and it is easy to delete files when you don't need them. I tried an external microphone on this and it is not necessary. The mic picks up everything in the room. When the teacher is speaking or there is a dialog between two people, the sound quality is great. When everyone in the room is studying in small groups, the sound goes into chaos. Over all this is an inexpensive way to record a class. Less of a hassle than using tapes.
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