Sony make the best voice recorders... This is my fourth Sony digital voice recorder. This device is the best I one had. It records at a very high quality level. The files are MP3 so you can easily e-mail the files directly (earlier models used a proprietary Sony format). The recording is superb.
As a player it is also superb. You can speed up (or slow down) the play back of files. The play changes the speed WITHOUT changing the pitch. In other words, faster playback does not sound like Pinky & Perky.
I love podcasts and with this device, I can listen to the BBC's Wake Up to Money at 150% of normal speed - i.e. a 30 minute programme in 20 minutes. If you are a music buff, you can also change the pitch of a file. That is not my "thing" but my son who is a bit of a musician has told me how useful the feature is.
You can do all the usual things with play - set alarms for a message, search for files by date (very useful) use folders etc.
Finally, the device can be used with Dragon Dictate. Why not 4 stars? The "Sound Organiser" software supplied is very clunky and makes my netbook grind to a halt. Don't let this put you off the recorder though.
I bought my recorder from Amazon and got a good price and the usual excellent service. Recommended.