Sometimes Simple is Best!
Pros:
Simple, Inexpensive, Works Great
Cons:
No Volume Control or Message Counter
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
By todays high tech standards, especially for devices made to coincide with a PDA, which by its nature is high tech, the Landware goVox digital recorder is almost an anachronism. Dont get me wrong. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
While its hard to consider a digital recorder, by any means, a relic this is a very basic device. Its beauty comes from the following:
> It fills a need. Basic Palms, unlike some of the newer devices and non Palm PDAs dont have a voice recorder for note taking and quick memos. I have a Sony ICD-35 recorder (which I love and have previously reviewed) but this gives another, very viable option for those who find a need for a voice recorder in conjunction with their Palm.
> Its simple and it works well.
> While its an add-on thats not part of the original equipment it simply and unobtrusively replaces the Palm flip screen cover with something that both protects AND performs an important function while taking up virtually no additional space.
> Its well made, easy to use, durable and weighs only 1.7 ounces.
> Its relatively inexpensive. It seems difficult to find a Palm option under $100 and this is only $54.95 for the Palm III series, IBM WorkPad and TRG Pro. Its $64.95 for the model that fits the Palm V, Palm Vx and IBM c3. (Owners of the Palm Pilot Personal, Professional and Palm VII have been left out in the cold.)
By no means is this an MP3 player or meant for anything but quick notes. I can record up to 8 minutes digitally in as many as 99 separate messages. Speak fast, though, as that works out to less than 5 seconds per message.
The 8 kHz digital voice quality is excellent. Every bit as good as on my more expensive Sony. The built in microphone is very sensitive almost too sensitive. If I use it while driving I have to turn the radio almost completely down to avoid annoying background interference.
This does not interface with my Palm by any means except as a cover. This is not to be confused with Visor type devices that latch into the Springboard Expansion Slot. Thus, this runs off its own two fairly expensive lithium ion batteries that LandWare claims will last about 3 months which seems reasonable if not conservative.
Unlike more sophisticated devices, there is no LCD screen for information such as the number message you are looking for, length of message, date recorded etc. Nonetheless you can play back and delete individual messages. There is a audible beep as you skip over messages. Want to find message 10? Count 10 beeps. Remember, high tech this aint.
The biggest drawback is that there is no volume control. There were plenty of times I wanted to play something back softly without everyone in earshot hearing PICK UP PRUNE JUICE AND EAR WAX REMOVER AT STOP & SHOP AFTER WORK. Well
you get the idea!
In short, this is a veritable bargain and I wouldnt hesitate to recommend it to anyone. If it had a volume control and a better message counter it would be perfect. Possibly LandWare can add a more expensive model with an LCD screen to eliminate the few shortcomings.
