Olympus WS-100 64 MB Voice Recorder with USB Interface

very easy to use! i havent had one problem with it! I've used it for about 3 hours of recoding so far and the batteries are still working well! It was easy to upload onto a PC (it doesnt work on Mac), and i can hear about 99.9% of every word that my teacher, when lecturing, says. I looked all over the internet and this was the cheapest one with the features I wanted, and im not dissapointed. It has a lot of features I will never use but they dont get in the way when i'm trying to record.

SOUND QUALITY STINKS. Do not buy. The sound recorded is hard to understand and tiny, AWFUL. Don not buy this!!!!

I recently purchased this item and was impressed by all the modes, screeens, folders, and features. nice machine. Smaller than i thought it was going to be but still easy to handle and carry in my pocket. Unfortuately, the one must-have quality, in my opinion, playback, was horrible. I recorded a message and played it back, turned up the volume so i could actually hear my message and the words became brackish, tinny and distorted. i barely recognized my own words. Too bad. i have had many recorders over the years and this one has very bad playback. i returned it.

I bought my first WS-100 three or four years ago, and my second yesterday as a back up. I haven't regretted it for a second! I'm a member of a paranormal investigation team, I use mine during audio sessions trying to capture EVP. At least for what I use it for, the unit has been great! The AAA battery can be changed out in about five seconds, so there is no significant interuption when the battery dies out. I've looked at the WS-500, and since it takes an odd battery size and needs to be charged on a computer or wall outlet, I backed off of buying one. The built in USB port in one of the best points. If the cable is not handy, no problem! The download is quick and easy. I've also used it as a flash drive a few times, and it will work on most computers. Also, you don't have to download specific software to be able to use it. The files are easy to organize. On it's most sensitive setting, you can get about six to eight hours or so of recording time out of it before you have to download. Also, on the plus side, the unit is somewhat user friendly and easy to use once you've played with it a time or two. That's important when you're in the dark and don't want to fumble around with it too much. There are couple of minor down sides. The reviews that beat it up for the built in speaker are accurate. It is pretty bad. It's fine if you download it onto a computer, but listening with the unit is not a lot of fun. Also, the battery cover for mine will sometimes pop open, so I have to make sure the battery doesn't fall out. Outside of that, the positives far out weigh the negatives!

Upon receiving my voice recorder, I attempted to learn how to use it. To my surprise, when I began looking at the instructions I noticed there were two copies in Spanish, and one in French. After contacting amazon.com about the problem, they indicated they could not help me and referred me to Olympus. Olympus sent an email with an attached copy in English. However, it was so small I could barely read it, and am not able to enlarge it to print it. Olympus indicated they would provide a hard copy of the instructions for an additional charge of ten dollars. This puzzles me. I am an English speaking American, living in a country with English as its official language. Why can I not get the copy of my owners manual in English, that I should have gotten to begin with, without paying an additional outrageous charge. The whole process has turned me against buying products online.

This product has several features that are helpful for me. The recording quality and volume is fine for my purposes, which is recording therapy sessions. It picks up all voices well. The interface with the computer is straightforward and simple, allowing easy data transfer. The small size makes it easy to carry and store in a purse or pocket. The product doubles as a flash drive, so If I don't have my flash drive handy, I can just substitute this. The product really eliminates the need for an additional flash drive. When the machine is off, the computer sees it as a flash drive. The format can be converted when writing to a CD, so that recordings can be played on a regular CD player. However, the size of the file has to be small enough to fit on the CD. I am convinced that for my needs, this was a good purchase and the best value I could find.

Fell apart after one day!!!!!!

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, one of my girlfriends who had been down this road told me to get a recorder to tape all my doctor visits. You know how it is - you can never remember exactly what was said, even if you try to take notes. My doctor was so impressed, she told me she would recommend a recorder to all her patients. Anyway, this device is so easy to use! It plugs straight into the PC and I can save all my files to Media Player. the 27 hour capability is a plus. And get this - the battery is included!