51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
overall very good
I bought this recorder to record music. I am a cello major at college, and needed something at least to record lessons. I sorted through many recorders before buying this one, here's my advice:
~Look at the specifications; if you are buying an olympus recorder go to their website to look up the sampling frequency and other specs. For instance you'll find out that...
86 of 95 people found the following review helpful:
Not very good for dictation
A buyer needs to know that this is just a recorder and not suitable for dictation use. The device is slim, light, but just the right weight to feel right in your hand. The USB connector is a great idea. All audio files generated are accessible as a USB drive that you plug into your computer.
The way the controls work is that when you press the "rec"...
This review is from: Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder (Electronics)
I bought this recorder to record music. I am a cello major at college, and needed something at least to record lessons. I sorted through many recorders before buying this one, here's my advice:
~Look at the specifications; if you are buying an olympus recorder go to their website to look up the sampling frequency and other specs. For instance you'll find out that the sampling frequency is 44.1khz (cd quality) on hq mode
~Think about how much space you will need. For me, I will not be saving anything on that recorder; it will be moved quickly to the computer or my ipod so there was no point in buying more space on it.
My thoughts on the recorder so far:
~Good quality recording, almost cd quality. Works best of course with an external mic.
~I love the ease of use. The best thing, is that it works just like a usb device; you take the batter compartment off to reveal that in essence, this is a fancy usb stick. No additional software ... just drop it in the folder you want :)
Recording is easy too; click the big red button and you shall record
Update: I've had this recorder for WELL over a year, and I love it. With the external mic and good placement of the device, I get high quality recordings. I use it most for my lessons, and it's both discreet and efficient. Would recommend highly to anyone.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder (Electronics)
I bought the Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder after researching quite a few brands and models (on Amazon and elsewhere). As I've used the device for about 3 hours only (since I got it yesterday), my feedback here will probably be revised after a few days' use.
Pros:
1. Ideal size - lightweight; not heavy/bulky like most microtape recorders
2. Simple and intuitive user interface - the buttons are sized correctly and the on-screen prompts are useful
3. Quality of recording at the highest quality is simply superb. I am still amazed at the high quality of audio.
4. Connectivity to the PC is straightforward (through the USB port) and finding the file within the folder structure is effortless.
5. The price I paid ($60 + free shipping) makes this device a fabulous buy.
6. The in-built speaker is quite good considering its size
Cons:
1. File format is limited to WMA/Windows Media instead of mp3 or a more Microsoft-independent format; I knew about this limitation when I bought the device but figured I could live with this limitation.
2. In-built mike is supersensitive (this is a disadvantage if the device is being used in an environment with substantial background noises). For my purposes, the sensitivity is welcome as I am currently using the device in environments with minimal background noise. I don't plan on buying a noise-cancelling mike as it might not be necessary.
Overall - I would rate this voice recorder as a 4.5/5.0. It loses 0.5 points for being too MicroSoft-specific (WMA) as opposed to using a non-proprietory format.
Will edit this review (if possible) after using the device for a few more days.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder (Electronics)
A buyer needs to know that this is just a recorder and not suitable for dictation use. The device is slim, light, but just the right weight to feel right in your hand. The USB connector is a great idea. All audio files generated are accessible as a USB drive that you plug into your computer.
The way the controls work is that when you press the "rec" button a new file is created that stores the audio. You can pause recording and restart by pressing the "rec" button to keep recording in the same file. If you press stop the file cannot have anything else added to it. What you cannot do is to pause the recording then listen to the recording to see where you were in your dictation. If you want to listen you have to press stop then play the file. You cannot add to the end of a file.
For recording discussions, music, events, or interviews it is fine. Good audio quality and low price. However, for dictation it is not appropriate. I returned the unit after purchase (at Office Depot) due to the limitations. Olympus has dictation appropriate recorders, but these are quite expensive. I'll be looking at the Sony brand dictation recorders to see if what I need is available there.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder (Electronics)
This thing sounds really good and is actually compatible with my Mac (though since the files are in WMA format, you'll need a free app like VLC to play them in OS X). There are a few things listed in the product details that just aren't true, though:
- it says there are eight playback speeds, when there are only three (.5x 1x, and 1.5x speeds). You can set these as permanent playing modes, which I suppose it how they somehow came up with the fictitious number of modes.
- if you record at a decent quality, you only get 17-36 hours of recording. The lower qualities sound ok when they are played back, but if it's a loud room, you'll want to use the higher quality mode to be able to head the specific sound you're recording.
I love that I can plug it straight into my Mac and it appears as a drive. Very easy to interact with, and no need for messy drivers or cables.
I'm considering trading this one up to the Olympus WS-311M Digital Voice Recorder, which is only $20 more and has twice the recording time. But overall, this product seems to be a decent quality.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder (Electronics)
I bought the Olympus WS-110 mainly so I could record my college lectures. I previously own a microcassette player, but I just got fed up with the cassette tapes and its limited capacity.
Anyways, I thought this little hardware little great. Like everyone mention in the other reviews: it's small, light, sturdy, and has a pretty decent audio quality.
The only problem I had with the Olympus WS-110 is the fact that it wasn't simple as I thought it would be, or "no manual reading required." But I had to resort to reading the manual for simple tasks such as turning on and off the digital voice recorder. But after 10 minutes of using this recorder I felt really comfortable with it.
The only thing I have left to say is, Olympus WS-100 does what it was made to do, record and playback audio, its not an MP3 player, it was never meant to be one. But if you do own an Olympus WS-110, and what music you pretty much have to convert your audio files into WMA. You can do so with this converter software:
http://www.download.com/Free-Mp3-Wma-Converter/3000-2140_4-10442362.html
(Note:I personally think its worth the trouble of installing this software. But just be careful, during installation you will be ask to install other unnecessary softwares such as a toolbar, and set yahoo as your homepage, just decline them all.)
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This review is from: Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder (Electronics)
I wanted a recorder that would let me hear my music lesson practice sessions. I wanted a recorder that would "plug and download". I loved this recorder and was VERY happy with the sound quality I could get considering the cost of the unit and with its ease of use. BUT....since late 12/07 I have had 2 units stop functioning. Yes, I liked it so much that when the 1st one lost its ability to power up I bought a second which ran into the same (yet to be diagnosed by Olympus) problem. So I recommend it because there doesn't seem to be a trend of complaints of breakdowns but I would save my receipt!
An update---14 days after sending this unit in for warranty work I got a functional unit back with no hassle. Great Service on Olympus' part so I would rec this unit but KEEP THE RECEIPT just in case I'm not the only unlucky one.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder (Electronics)
This little device is spectacular. Small and light, can fit in a pocket. Has enough memory for a lot of recording. Easy to use. Downloading is quick and fun. Good quality audio. Great idea to go with WMA instead of proprietary audio software that complicates things.I am glad I have this gadget.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder (Electronics)
Overall good product. Nice and compact. I use it for college lectures, and it picks up good sound quality from the middle of the room. I also like the 1.5x and the .75x playback optons that speed it up or slow it down w/o distortion. Easy plug-and-play pc connectivity.
Improvements I would like to see: The battery life is short and the battery level indicator shows a full charge even when it's about to die.
Also, the files are not labled by date or time when you transfer them to your pc - only by folder. With multiple files in a folder it's hard to know what file is what recording utnil you play them all.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder (Electronics)
I recently bought a MacBookPro and needed a digital voice recorder that was compatible with a Mac and PC. The Olympus is easy to use and downloads on both computers.
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This review is from: Olympus WS-110 WMA Digital Voice Recorder (Electronics)
I need a digital recorder for work, and I'm happy with my Olympus recorder, mostly because it is easy to use. The recorder works similar to a cell phone. Even the buttons on the front of the recorder are reminiscent to a cell phone. It's smaller and lighter than a cell. I can drop it in my purse and go. Previously, I owned a Sony recorder. I tossed out the directions and spent two years fidgeting with the thing, trying to remember how it worked, until I gave up and went with Olympus. I like how I can download files into my computer by removing the bottom half of the recorder. I have a Mac at work and it downloads the voice recordings as Wave files. It has the memory to record for 17 hours. However, it's annoying that I haven't yet figured out (nor do I know if there's an ability on the recorder) to block out certain background sounds. For instance, if you're in a loud auditorium and someone next to you coughs, the recorder will pick up that and it will be louder than the speaker on the stage. Having used recorders for years, I know that old-fashioned tape recorders can block background sounds. I don't know if the technology has been adapted digitally.
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