Sony ICD-PX312 - Digital voice recorder - flash 2 GB - MP3 - black

I was looking around for a dictaphone for using at university as I discovered I often missed pieces of information when writing notes and also being half asleep after an hour and a half commute for a 9am lecture.

This product is an absolute god send! It has an easy to use interface and the instuctions give you all the information you need. My main reason for choosing this dictaphone over the other types is the fact I could put the recordings on my laptop for future reference for revision.

The recordings are really clear. I had a friend sat next to me coughing during my recording and I could still hear the lecturer speaking clear when she was stood at approx 7 feet away without a microphone. As the recordings are in mp3 format, it also means I can put the recordings on my ipod to listen to in my own time and as a more portable mode of transporting instead of taking my laptop with me.

The product also allows you to select what type of thing your recording i.e. lecture, interview etc. The device also has a 2gb micro sd card which can easily be upgraded to hold more recordings if required, however 2gb gets you a lot of time and as I put my recordings on my pc I don't need anymore.

Any student who like me is not quick at note-taking, misses stuff whilst writing or is usually half asleep or even none of the above.... This product is amazing and well worth the money!

I use this voice recorder for recording my classes at university. If you are looking for a voice recorder for the same purpose and are on a tight budget this voice recorder is ideal. If you are in a large room I would advise you place the voice recorder at the front of the class if your teacher is not wearing a microphone to get the best sound quality.

Pros:
Great battery life, i have been using this recorder everyday and have recorded over 15 hours of lectures and the battery level still reads full.

Very cheap for those on a tight budget

USB connectivity for storing your recorded files on your computer or laptop. (I would suggest renaming the folders on the recording device before recording classes as it is quite annoying having to organise them later. If you rename the folders to the names of your module/ class title it is much easier to operate and find the files when you are playing them back. You do this using the sony sound organizer software supplied with it and by pluggin the device into your laptop. Five folders are on the device and you can rename them to what ever you want. This means when you go to record a class you can pick which folder you want the file to be saved into)

Comes with built in noise cut which basically removes unwanted background noise for clearer playback. This can be turned on and off with a switch on the side of the device. Also comes with several recording modes, for example lecture, meeting, voice notes etc which sets the device up for different environments.

Very easy to operate.

Cons:
Built-in speaker could be better, however it does have an earphone slot.

Sony organizer software which comes with the product could have been better designed. For example I can't seem to organize the files into folders when they are put onto my laptop. That is why i suggested to rename your folders on the device to your module names so that they are already in the folders you want before you upload them on your computer. This is a minor crticism and should not put you off buying this.

Sound quility could be better but you can't really ask for much more at this price. Don't get me wrong it does the job quite well and I am pleased with it.

Overall I give this dictaphone 4 starts out of 5 as it does the job very well and at this price you can't really ask for much more.

I've always wanted a voice recorder, but it's only recently that I've found a real need for one. I trust the Sony brand and, despite the fact that there aren't many reviews on here, there are many favourable reviews on Amazon.com for this product. So, given that the price was reasonable, I decided to take the plunge and go for this one...

I'm so pleased I did! This gadget is just terrific! I could have bought a voice recorder for around half this price, but I really wanted one which gave you the option of transferring files to your computer. The SHQ recording is only 22 hours, so I needed the option of transferring files - otherwise I fear this gadget would have become full very quickly!

There are many great features that come with this model - the best of all is the "pause" option, which allows you to pause in the middle of recording and then continue with no obvious "break" in the recording. I'm someone that tends to "erm" and "uh" a lot as I think, so this is a brilliant feature - especially if you do long recordings.

Moreover, the sound quality is superb. However, I strongly advise that you invest in a pair of earphones (normal ones are fine) as you can only appreciate the quality of the sound if you listen via earphones. Without them, I can see how people might find the recordings to be sub-par. If you use earphones, the quality is brilliant - it'll even pick up subtle changes in voice intonation.

The voice recorders' uses are obvious. If you're looking at voice recorders in the first place, then I'll assume that you have a need for one! I keep finding more and more uses for it - here are just a few:

- Record notes from classes and studies on the recorder. Play it back before bed or during long car journeys for painless learning!
- If you're in the middle of a book and come across a word you need to look up there's no need to get up and look it up in the dictionary. Just record the word and its context and look it up at a convenient time later.
- When you put things away record where you're putting them. There's no need to ever "lose" anything again (unless you lose the recorder, of course.)
- Record things people tell you or things you need to do
- Useful for meetings and lectures
- If you are having a moment of inspiration or a great stream of thoughts whilst you work on an essay, book, letter, business idea etc. there's no need to lose the ideas. I keep mine by my bedside just in case.

It really is like having a second memory - a very useful one at that!

Are there any down sides? A few, but not enough for me to lower my rating. The labelling on the voice recorder may be a bit confusing at first. The button labelled "play/stop" is really only used to play your recording. The stop button is a square lower down on the device.

There's also some software which comes with the recorder. It allows you to edit your files on your computer etc. I'm not sure it's something I'd have any need for, personally, but if you are a techno-whiz, you might have fun playing around with it.

It would also have been nice if the recorder had come with a holder. I'd like to take mine out with me - so I'm going to have to buy one.

All of these are only minor things though and do not detract from what is a great little device, which I'm sure I'll use for years to come. It arrived promptly. Great slim design. Excellent service from Amazon as always. Thoroughly recommended.