Olympus VN3100 Digital Voice Recorder

by Olympus

Product Details

• Item Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000I3AGWQ
• Item model number: 141887
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,134 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 2, 2006

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

With 128 MB of built-in flash memory, the Olympus VN3100 Digital Voice Recorder provides over 71 hours of continuous recording. Recordings can be organized in up to four folders (each folder stores up to 100 files for easy file management). Key features include a large LCD display for keeping tabs on recording status, battery life, and more, an easy to use thumb pad and file management system, and XHQ, HQ, SP, and LP recording modes. The VN3100 also provides voice activated and timer recording for maximum flexibility and usability.

Product Description

The pocket-sized recorder is sleek in style and powerful in performance with nearly 72 hours of continuous recording capability. The easy-to-use thumbpad makes for quick and convenient operation of functions like file management, choosing playback and recording modes and more. Timer recording and voice activation provide awesome versatility.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handy Dandy Voice Recorder, December 21, 2006

By 

Zach Marius "Chris" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Olympus VN3100 Digital Voice Recorder (Office Product)

When I went out shopping for a voice recorder I didn't want one that had fancy lights, did backflips, had a taser built in (though that would be cool ;) I just wanted a voice recorder so I wouldn't forget my thoughts during the day. I have a very bad memory and I knew that if I could speak my thoughts rather than writing them I could remember much more of what I wanted to remember.

So I started here at Amazon. The reason I started at Amazon was because they have the widest selection of anything anywhere. (in my own personal opinion) After looking at a few different ones I decided an Olympus would be my best bet. I have always had a great time with Olympus and have never ever had a problem with it. I was not disappointed!

The device itself weighs in just about 65 grams and is 4x1.5x11/16 (LengthxWidthxDepth in inches) It is literally palm sized and fits comfortably in my hand (though I have a bigger hand than most people) It has an internal mic and speaker both of which are adequate for any atomsphere. Most audio-philes would not be happy with the sound quality but be not discouraged, it records clearly anything that is spoken. In the Menu it also gives a choice of recording in high or low mic, as well as sound quality of XHQ, HQ, SP, and LP. It also sports a mic and headphone port for you to use external equipment with it.

The interface is very easy to use and fairly intuitive. There is a hold switch on the left side for locking it and turning it off, a battery charge level in the upper right hand corner, and an easy to read lcd screen. It has four folders (A,B,C,D) for easy organization and each recording records the date and time when it was recorded.When in hold the only thing that it'll show if you press any button is the date and time. (it can show 24 clock as well)

This unit does not sport a usb port for connection to your computer (hence the pc absent from the model number) and actually comes in a silver finish not the blue one. One thing that irked me but is not much of a problem was that it has a strap hole but does not come with a strap. It is an accessory that can be bought from Olympus.

All in all this is a wonderful product and is actually fairly cheap for the features that it packs. For those with bad memory it is a life saver as well. I would recommend this product to anyone who wants to record anything from thoughts to speechs.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Regretful!, February 10, 2007

By 

Mark R. LePage "Residential Architect" (Westchester County, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Olympus VN3100 Digital Voice Recorder (Office Product)

I tried to save a few bucks and bought the VN3100. It is doing a great job for me. I have no complaints on the quality of the unit, hence my rating of 4 stars.

I am using it simply for reminders throughout the day. Its much easier to record my thoughts than trying to remember them all. I am an architect and many ideas come and go during the day. The VN3100 is excellent for quick capture.

My regret was triggered by several recordings I made of my two boys (2 and 5 years old). We have been playing around and I have several recordings now that I would love to save. Without any way to download the files to my PC, they will need to remain on my recorder forever.

I recommend that anyone considering the VN3100 upgrade to a recorder with a download feature. You never know what you will record that you will want to keep forever.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A real pain in the you-know-what, June 9, 2007

By 

MCO "rock reader" (Appleton, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Olympus VN3100 Digital Voice Recorder (Office Product)

I've had this recorder for a number of months now, and I'm using it to recorder interviews that I am using for my thesis. While the recording quality itself is fairly good, I am extremely irritated that the buttons themselves aren't really set up very well. For example, I am transcribing the interviews, and so I am constantly replaying parts of the recording. If you don't press the button exactly in the right spot, you end up, instead of forwarding backward or ahead, going all the way to the beginning of the track and losing your spot. For obvious reasons, this can be extremely infuriating. I've had it do this a good 20 times at least, and then have to try to find where I was. It's caused a loss of efficiency that I think is unacceptable.

So, if you don't mind inefficiency and having to spend a lot of time forwarding and going back and subsequently losing your spot, then it's great.