"That's how my voice really sounds?" *UPDATE #2*
Pros:
Easy to use, functional, portable, durable, good battery life
Cons:
Limited Memory, external mic & earphone sold separately,
The Bottom Line:
Great "entry Level" digital recorder for personal use. If it suits your needs it can save you a lot of money compared to other digital recorders.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Olympus has done a great job of manufacturing a very handy "entry level" digital voice recorder for personal use. I purchased my VN-120 at Best Buy for $39.99 in January of 2005 and have used it numerous times, and for various purposes.
The VN-120 has many practical purposes, but with its sleek and lightweight design it can also be used for a bit of undercover fun. The recorder fits nicely into the palm of your hand, and if you didn't know what it was, or saw someone carrying it, the recorder could easily be mistaken for a cell phone.
MY EXPERIENCE:
I've used the VN-120 for recording lectures at school, recording telephone conversations for court purposes, recording my wife when she snores and replaying it in the morning to embarrass her, as well as in many other circumstances. It's been a great tool for catching important, and not so important, information to be reviewed and used at a later date.
I really like the VN-120's sleek design. Even though it's not the best of the best when it comes to digital recorders, it still offers an attractive exterior to compliment its functional capabilities.
It took me all of ten minutes to figure out all I needed to know to be able to utilize all of the VN-120's features. It's got a very user-friendly interface and most of the functions can be figured out without having to read the instruction manual.
The VN-120 is a durable little guy. I've dropped it indoors and outdoors a number of times, but it hasn't been cracked, scratched, or damaged in any way. I've never had any data I've recorded compromised due to clumsiness.
The recorder is lightweight, portable and concealable. It fits nicely in almost any sized pocket. I have to wear button-up dress shirts and a tie for work, and the recorder disappears nicely in the front breast pocket of my dress shirt.
CONS:
Not good if you need to store large amounts of data for a long period of time. It comes with 16MB of built in memory, but there's no additional slot to add more memory, and there's no output for transferring the data to another storage device or computer file.
The VN-120 has an external microphone and earphone, but both of these items are sold separately.
FEATURES:
With it's built in 16MB memory it can store up to 120 minutes of data.
The VN-120 is quite functional regarding its internal storage capabilities. It offers 3 folders that can hold up to 100 files per folder. It also allows you to delete one file at a time or an entire folder.
The VN-120 has a nice sized LCD view-screen and an easy to use jog dial that makes it easy to navigate through the recorder's functions. The VN-120 makes fast forwarding, rewinding, and transitioning through recorded data extremely easy.
The VN-120 has 3 qualities of recording, and offers you the maximum amount of recording time at the lowest recording quality, which still sounds great at playback. You can record about 45 minutes worth of data at the highest recording quality.
The recorder offers 3 playback speeds: Normal, slow and fast. Slow is good for dictation purposes, and fast is good if you need to get through a larger file quickly.
One neat feature of the VN-120 is that it offers a sound activated, hands-free recording option.
It has a built in microphone, speaker, and earphone jack. It also has a built in metal pocket clip for portability.
It has a great battery life, with 2 AAA batteries giving you approximately 25 hours of use.
OVERALL RECOMMENDATION:
The Olympus VN-120 is a great "entry level" digital recorder. It's easy to use and has served its purpose considering my needs. It's a great way to go if you don't want to spend a lot of money on a digital recorder.
