Product Review OLYMPUS VN-5000 Digital Voice Recorder

The Olympus VN-5000 Digital Voice Recorder is the perfect recorder for those wanting the advantages of portability. With it's small pocket size at 4" length by 1.4" width by .8" height and 2.2 ounces you won't find yourself being annoyed by a bulky gadget. Also, whether you're recording important meetings, lectures or even something simple as a grocery list then this device is a must. The Olympus VN-5000's uses are seemingly endless.

Some of Olympus VN-5000's best features are it's memory capacity and battery life. Offering five-hundred twelve megabytes of internal memory, the Olympus VN-500 can provide over two-hundred fifty hours of recording time. Of those hours of storage you can separate audio recordings amongst up to four folders and a maximum of one-hundred files in each. Which adds to the ease of use of the device when searching for your recordings.

Other features include its LCD display that offers more screen space than comparable devices. The on-screen display includes the status of current recordings, remaining battery life and more. The Olympus VN-5000's recording formats consist of HQ/SP and LP which affect the length of recording space at the expense of minor loss of quality. LP offers the maximum recording length of three-hundred plus hours at a lower quality. The VN-5000 comes with a built-in speaker, external microphone and headphone jacks.

Another excellent feature is it's voice activation feature which records when it "hears" sound. You can also set index marks in your recordings and play back recordings as an alarm. There's also a timer for scheduling recordings when you're not around to press record or use the voice activation feature. Last, but not least, is the playback speed feature. You can play back audio twenty-five percent slower or fifty percent faster than the original recording. The device is powered by two AAA batteries that offer enough power for up to thirty-nine hours of recording time using alkaline batteries and less using rechargeable batteries.

Some of the cons, as with many devices, are the controls. They may take a bit of getting used to when first getting the recorder. The instructions that come with the Olympus VN-5000 may not be the best but you'll be able to figure things out if you're new to digital recording devices. Another is that the built-in speaker isn't that loud. Even at full volume. The biggest negative is that the Olympus VN-5000 lacks the ability to transfer audio recordings to your computer. Those that are looking for that feature may want to look for another product.

The Olympus VN-5000 Digital Voice Recorder is a useful recording device for those new to the digital recording world. It's features, given its price, are more than enough for most.