Customer Reviews

Griffin Technology 4020-TALK iTalk Voice Recorder for iPod

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

I bought the iTalk to take memos when I'm out in the field. Camera in one had, iPod in the other. I read the reviews first so knew it would be risky but it sounded ok for my uses and I got it cheap.

* Files are about 1 minute per Mb, stored as wav.
* Sound quality is understandable but not as good as AM radio.
* For a fully charged iPod, I got about 90 mins recording before the battery showed empty.

Pros

* Recording works fine, and I can dictate captions for photos as I think of them on site. Typically these are 1-2 minutes at most. I have also made an hour-long recording as a test without problems. I tried recording conversation in a cafe but it picks up too much background to be understandable.
* The best feature for photo memos is that files are time stamped, so I copy each memo to the same folder as my photos (which are also time stamped) making them easy to match up.
* iTalk can take an external mike which cuts out background white noise.
* Files are automatically sync'd to iTunes Voice Memo list and stored in the iTunes unknown artist folder. (If you have this feature set in iTunes)

Cons

* Software glitches randomly lock up the iPod under almost every condition except for the initial condition (more about this below).
* The iTalk covers the iPod lock. This is a serious design flaw given how quickly the battery drains. It means that you can't carry the iTalk connected to the iPod and easily lock the keys.
* The line that takes a mic also doubles as a line out. If headphones are connected and you try to record, the recording light shows but nothing is recorded. It creates a file but it's empty.

Hints

Prevent freezing: If the iTalk is in place when the iPod is turned on, it will often freeze. To prevent freezing, remove the iTalk before turning on the iPod every time. Under these conditions I've never had it freeze. If the iPod does sleep, to prevent freezing, remove the iTalk then insert it again (i'm not sure how often this is necessary, but I haven't had to reset the iPod since the first day).

Reset: To reset the iPod, remove the iTalk and hold down the iPod's MENU and PLAY '>||' buttons for 10 sec. I used this 5x the first day with the iTalk but haven't needed it since.

Locking: Slide a laminated card (my credit card is too thick) between the iPod and iTalk to lock, or carry the iTalk separately (annoying, but not as annoying as rebooting every time).

Saving: It's not enough to pause a recording, you need to remember to stop and save it before removing the iTalk. The MENU button will also save files.

Finding the files on PC: I have iTunes set to automatically sync files. To find the files in iTunes, look under the Voice Memos list. It's a trifle disconcerting when they disappear from one list and appear elsewhere unless you're prepared for it. On my PC, they can also be copied from
iTunes music/unknown artist/unknown album

Battery: I tried letting the battery run out while recording. It ran for ~50 minutes while the battery was showing empty then shut down with no warning. The file appears to have been saved ok.

Battery life: Check out the apple web page for battery tips (...) (I know this comment is outside the scope of iTalk, but if you use a voice recorder with the iPod, you're going to be dealing with battery issues.)

Summary

Despite the glitches, I like having a handy memo system and will keep it til something better turns up. Doesn't sound like Belkin is any better in terms of software glitches or battery life, but it looks like it would be possible to lock the iPod with the Belkin in place which would be a plus. The minus is that Belkin doesn't take an external mic.

I use a Samsung digital recording device to record oral history interviews. My interviewee has Parkinson's and slurs his speech. He also is prone to mumbling. I spend hours trying to decipher what he's said when I use my Samsung voice recorder.

Enter the Griffin iTalk. After downloading the 2.2 iPod software from Apple, it worked without a glitch. I especially like the ease with which one can start and stop a recording session without starting new files each time. It's simple and easy to use and gives the user a great deal of control. The built-in organization when it syncs with iTunes is also extremely convenient.

The playback quality right out of the iTalk itself isn't great. It's about as good as my laptop's speakers. But I always play back through small Sony speakers anyway. The quality here: perfect. It's actually quite amazing. I was stunned.

I haven't experienced any freezing of the iPod. I haven't experienced any problems at all actually.

I never write reviews on Amazon, but I was so excited by the utility of this little (yes, very attractive) device that I was compelled to come online and share my discovery.

I've had OK luck recording conversations with this, but there are better solutions available elsewhere. Here's my advice:

First, read the warnings of others here. This product, and Griffin's products in general, seem to have strong limitations, in my experience.

First off, if you plan on moving to a new iPod with video anytime soon, then you won't be able to use this. Fortunately, there is at least one MUCH better option available for new (video) iPods. It is the MicroMemo (XtremeMac). Sound quality is MUCH better because it can make 16-bit (as opposed to 8-bit) recordings. I'll bet that other alternatives will be available soon, so do a search for iPod digital voice recorders before buying.

Second, I, like many others, am not too thrilled with the sound and the reliability of this gadget (yet another sub-par product from Griffin, IMHO). Also, the extra jack for a microphone has led to mixed results. The whole gadget will sometimes pop out of the socket in the iPod, if you aren't careful (which is the only reason I know of for not tossing my old microcassette recorder).

Don't bother with Belkin's Voice Recorder--it sounds even worse, quite frankly. I haven't seen or tested the Maxell P-7 recorder, but I hear that it is comparable to Griffin's product, with a slightly better microphone. Other products that I hear are comparable/sub-par are SterlingTek's iRecorder and DLO's VoiceNote.

I think the best solution for these older iPods is to use Belkin's Universal Microphone Adapter along with any decent recording microphone. It WILL sound better, but it will still be an 8-bit recording and the sound quality won't knock your socks off. If you want to record telephone calls, use the UMA with something like Radio Shack's Wireless Phone Recording Controller.

I'm sure this is a great product. But if you have a 5th Generation iPod, it will NOT work. If you have an iPod Mini, it will NOT work either.

The description for this item is unclear and should really be revised.

I'm a pre-med student and searched the internet for something to record my bio-chemistry lectures. Somthing small, portable, and something that wouldn't give me any hassles. I bought an ipod in february, and teamed up with the italk it seemed the perfect solution.

The italk came in a black box, in white packaging characteristic to all apple products. When I attached the itrip onto my ipod, it fit perfectly onto the top, so much better than its 'belkin rival'.

I first saw the Belkin recorder at Walmart, it was priced at $40, (circuit city price - $50). The Belking was flat out ugly, the quality sucked and I took it back. Walmart is real lean on returned items and they promplty refunded my purchase.

When I saw how much griffin cost and the reviews it received for it's sound quality, i made no mistake about it and put my order in with amazon.

When i received it came in the mail, I told my sister to stand on the far side of the living room, and start yelling at me. (I was trying to simulate a biochemistry lecture). The griffin italk picked up beautifully her voice.

I brought my nifty gadget to work and everyone kept asking me how much i got it. (They could hear the jimi hendrix grooves blaring from my ipod via the griffin italk)
My coworkers were suprised when i told them i had bought it for only $26. It looked much more expensive to everybody.

I loved. I didn't get ripped of with the belkin recorder, which didn't even have an external mic output (the bastards sell it seperately).

So if it's so perfect and beautiful and beats competition, what are all the bad reviews for?

Ahhh the freezing.

The ipod is programed to recognize the italk if the ipod is already on, and THEN the italk is plugged in. If though on the other hand you plug the italk in and then turn on the ipod you risk freezing your player. I've had no problems with it doing it the first way.

Five stars.

Please do not get this product if you have a new video ipod. It is incompatible. The new slim-form ipods do not have the data port on the top of the device, and therefore do not allow use of this product.

You will need to go with the belkin product, which is definitely inferior to this one. Doesnt seem like a good idea to remove that data port, but hey, i dont design the products... i just buy and use them. Good luck!

I bought this product to use with the new 5G iPod, but it doesn't work because the top of the new iPod is different. Wait for a new product that will connect using the dock.

I bought this item yesterday. I needed something to record telephone conferences, meetings, interviews, things like that for my job, something that could record in digital form and where the recording could easily be transferred to a conventional home or office computer. I considered buying one of the expensive Sony voice recorders, the ones costing $90-$150, which generally seem to be of good quality. But I was intrigued by the idea of spending less than $50 to get something I could attach to my iPod (recently purchased). My only concern was that online reviews of iTalk and the Belkin device that competes with it are generally quite poor.

I've already used the iTalk to record an hour-long teleconference with a client. It is just about perfect -- just what I was looking for and at a bargain price. The built-in speaker is highly inadequate -- you really have to use headphones with this thing to hear playback, but I don't see that as a big deal. Recording quality seems at least as good as what I've seen with Sony voice recorders.

I suspect that many of the people giving this product a bad review are expecting too much out of the built-in speaker.

I frequently use the iTalk to record public speeches like sermons and book talks by authors. Considering the $40 cost, I continue to be amazed how well it works. It is almost perfect for creating Podcasts.

Like any similar voice recorder, it does pick up surrounding noise like people coughing or papers being ruffled. It will sometimes pick up a whining noise, which I suspect is from the iPod itself. All of these can be cleaned up using GarageBand or other audio software with a Noise Gate.

For the price and ease of integration with the iPod, I recommend it.

1) playback is very low so forget about its use as a speaker
2) Great reception for lectures. I am in law school and record approx 3 hours/lectures per day and listen to them on my ipod and in Itunes.
3) Never had any problems with it dropping a recording.
4) have used it for less than a year (but a fair amount of use), and the connection on the mic has gotten shaky. It takes about 2 minutes of trying to turn it on to record to work, so I am ordering another one. A friend ordered a used one off the web and has the same problem.