Olympus® WS-853 8GB Digital Voice Recorder, Black

I used the Olympus Digital Voice Recorder for the first time a couple nights ago and it worked flawlessly.The aspects of this recorder that I like are:1. The easy-to-select settings - like conference, telephone record, dictation. These are like pre-sets (they call Simple Mode) and I've found that the conference and dictation work wonderful and were easy to select/program.2. I like the size of the recorder itself - small enough not to be cumbersome or obtrusive like the old cassette recorder was!3. I LOVE that it has the USB right in it - press down on the button and slide it to pop the USB out, then plug it straight into your computer. No wires to fuss with or keep track of. I had our meeting uploaded and saved as an MP3 to my computer within seconds of the meeting being over.4. I like the size of the data capabilities. Difficult to find 8GB in any recorder anymore. The recorder comes with a case and rechargeable batteries. You put the batteries into the recorder and plug it into your computer to charge. There is a small charge on them to begin with, but it took around an afternoon to get them to fully charged.5. Finally, I TRULY appreciated the fast and easy shipment from this seller. I actually had ordered this exact same recorder from another online company back in June. Just about weekly I would receive a message the delivery was delayed. When I got the message that it wouldn't be delivered until September (and in reality, it probably would have been delayed more) I got irritated and went to Amazon and Bluetek to order the same thing I should have been using since June. I had it in my hands in 2 days!!!! Can you tell I was irritated with the delay from that other company?!Now then, the CONS.1. The instruction book leaves a little to be desired. It has pictures/diagrams and writing - in 24 languages! - but even being a "follow the directions" kind of girl, I still had to fiddle with the recorder on my own to get to where I wanted to go. It's not difficult, but the instructions don't really get you through all the final steps...especially if you have to back to change something.2. The only other con I see...and this can be a big one...is that this recorder is an older model and therefore, will only work with Windows Vista,/ 7 / 8 / 8.1 and Mac OS X 10.5-10.10. I don't know much about Mac, but I do know that Windows is more advanced than 8.1, so keep that in mind when ordering.

I have a need to record certain podcasts for about 2 hours daily. My iPhone recorder application works fine but I need a backup. I tried a Sony, but I quickly got a "memory full" notification and couldn't get rid of it. I also tried a couple of different SD cards but couldn't get them to work on the Sony. I also bought a Tascam DR 05, but the recorded sound was poor. So far I find the Olympus WS-853 to be a superior product. It is small in size. The recorded sound is great. A 32 Gig SD card works great. When the SD card is inserted the recorder asks if you want to use the external SD card for memory. I has a retractable USB connector which works great. The USB connector also doubles as a means of recharging the AAA rechargeable batteries. I haven't used it long enough to determine battery life. The controls are easy to use. I find the screen easy to read. The speaker is small and delivers average sound, but this is a small unit. One cannot expect the speakers to be great. However earphones connected to the unit work great. In short, a most impressive unit. I may change my mind in a few weeks, but so far so good.

I used it immediately for a series of in person interviews and also for phone interviews with the phone on speaker mode. Sound quality is fine for my needs, and works fine in a room with 3-4 people being recorded for an interview.The manual is pretty much useless, but the controls are easy to figure out. It uploads recordings to my iMac or MacBook Pro via the built in USB connection. What is really cool and useful is that when I plug it into either Mac I can name the files with the name of the person interviewed and that name stays with files that stay on the recorder and those I transfer to the Mac. There may be a way to do this on the device itself but it is very easy to do on the computer.The supplied rechargeable batteries do a fine job and charge when the device is plugged into the computer. I have no sense of how long they last but I carry a spare set of batts anyway, so battery life is no biggie.

It works. Not so easy to use and you need a microscope to read the screen. And if you set it up to record activated by sound over a period of hours, all the recording comes as one long file and impossible to tell what was recorded at what time. Also, the instructions are very hard to understand. Just setting the volume is a trick! And, of course, as is usual these days, you have to go online and find the user instructions. However, it worked for what I needed it for. So, yes, it was a good value for the money.