The Olympus DS-40 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder

I picked up the Olympus DS-40 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder recently at Staples for $150.00. I have been using it fairly continuously taking notes in college. It has a 512MB memory, which may not seem like much, but for voice it is plenty.

Using the Olympus DS-40 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder I generally record my notes on HQ, which gives me pretty much weeks of recording time. According to the literature you can record up to 136 hours continuous. I haven't gotten quite that much yet, but I may just keep going to see how much I actually can get recorded.

I like the voice actuated recording feature, as it saves battery power if there is no sound to record at a given time.

Transferring recordings form the Olympus DS-40 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder to your computer is a snap. You just plug in to a USB port, and away you go. No third party software is necessary.

The sound quality of the Olympus DS-40 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder is pretty much what you would expect form a handheld recorder. It is not CD or HD quality, but it sounds good enough to transcribe notes from it. The low cut filter really helps cut down the sounds of air conditioners, and heaters, as well as other background noises.

The specs say the Olympus DS-40 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder will play back MP3 audio recordings. It does, but frankly the sound quality on those leave quite a bit to be desired. Just as well, I didn't buy the Olympus DS-40 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder to play MP3s on in the first place, I bought it to record lectures which it does admirably.

Now some of the problems I noticed with the Olympus DS-40 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder. The on off switch on the side of the case can be turned off accidentally. I would recommend that once you begin recording, handle the DS-40 as little as possible. I had some slight gaps in recording. I had looked down and seen it was no longer recording, and started recording again.

Something else that I wish the Olympus DS-40 Handheld Digital Voice Recorder had was a rechargeable battery. Battery life is mediocre at best. I usually make sure I carry about half a dozen extra batteries with me, just in case.

I have always liked Olympus Digital recorders. I had a VN 480-PC a couple of years ago that still works. I gave it to my little brother who is just going into high school.