Panasonic Digital Recorder

bought this device to replace traditional dictapho ...

Strengths: compact, lightweight device that is easy to use. great value for the money. included software installed on my pc easily and is intuitive. recorded files can be converted to .wav file format.

Weaknesses: does not come with a docking station but rather a usb cord, so if a docking station is important to you, this could be a weakness. uses AAA batteries rather than AA; battery life could be an issue.

Summary: bought this device to replace traditional dictaphone/ tape system and speed up my work flow, since i travel frequently and my administrative assistant does not reside in my office. this recorder can allow me to dictate my reports, convert to a .wav file and save on our server, to be retreived by my assistant. she can use windows media player to play back the file and type the report. the alternative was to express mail dictation tapes or use a phone-in dictation service. this was a more cost effective solution and is working great so far.

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Good recorder......but support

Strengths: Great recorder...great sound

Weaknesses: Worst tech support

Summary: This is a great recorder, excellent sound playback, on the unit and on the computer. The only problem I have with it is that when you lose your software cd, there's no place to download it. Not on the panasonic site, which you would think would have it...and no where else. If you decide to buy one....make a backup of that cd1!!!!!!!....

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Worthwhile Purchase

Strengths: Lightweight and very small. Ability to transfer files to pc and archive.

Weaknesses: Have not encountered any yet.

Summary: I got tired of my old mini tape recorder because the sound quality was lacking, the tapes don't hold anywhere near the amount of data as digital, and there is no way to archive the data besides having a collection of tapes. This solves all my problems in a nice little package.

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Can record only 2 h 20 min at high quality but for ...

Strengths: Small, lightweight recorder with very handy clip on a side. Works great on rechargeable batteries (enough for about 30 hours of recording). Menu is very simple bit instruction is a little complicated.

Weaknesses: The software can only convert into wav format. If you have limits of hard drive or email – you need another converter.

Summary: Can record only 2 h 20 min at high quality but for me quality of SP (about 8 hours) is enough for meetings of 3-10 persons. The recording is accurate if “voice activating system” is on. Switching the sensitivity to low reduces background noises. Software installation was simple. Recorder detects by Win Xp without problems. Transfer is very quick.

Additional expenses: pack of 4 AAA rechargeable batteries.

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Finally a backup of class notes

Strengths: small, lightweight, strong speaker, good mic, USB connectivity!, voice activated

Weaknesses: unclear instructions for automatic voice to text translation on computer, no power off button (unsure how long batteries last

Summary: So far I'm happy with the device. I've played with it a bit but haven't actually had the chance to use it for an interview or anything. It automatically goes for high quality and a lot of other automatic settings if you do choose voice activation meaning you only get about 2 hours of record time. Beyond that a backlit screen would be nice (not sure when i'd be recording int he dark but just in case) :)

The buttons are all along the face and one side of the unit so it's easy to control. Computer setup isn't as clear as it could be (lists two different IC recorder options in the setup (still unclear what the difference is). Also if i could figure out how to get the software to automatically convert whatever i record to text that would be amazing!

Over all a handy device to have. Great for grad school if your professors are okay with you using it and provided the class isn't taught in sign language (didn't help me in some of my classes).

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Panasonic RR-US360 IC Recorder

Strengths: Size, price

Weaknesses: User interface, capacity, software

Summary: I purchased this to record meetings so that I could have an accurate record -- it certainly meets that objective well.

It's very small, the battery life seems incredible (I'll know more once I have to replace the batteries -- but if the indicators are correct it will be a long time)... the voice quality even on the lowest setting is quite acceptable -- and of course if you can find it on sale you should be able to score it for about $49.99...

The downsides...

You almost have to carry the user manual with you if you want to do anything more than just keep recording on the same clip... which is sad, the feedback on the LCD is almost worthless (very cryptic) -- and the sequence of buttons to do anything "advanced" is just totally arbitrary.

The RR-US380 (this one's bigger brother) has more capacity -- but at it's price one could definitely ask why there wasn't an SD slot or something; this one you can argue isn't expensive enough... but at anything but normal recording speed you'll probably need a computer handy to off load the recordings.

Which brings us to the software... HORRIBLE -- no other word for it... why there isn't a simple interface to get the clips off the device is beyond me... you can get the files off, and you can convert them to standard WAV files -- but it is once again very convoluted.

Overall though, if you want to record a meeting, or conversation -- it's still a great device... but keep in mind exactly what your objectives are when purchasing, or you might be a little disapointed.

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