I recently started a new job that involves intensive training in a classroom environment as well as the need to be constantly on the move as a tutor within the classroom itself. I quickly realised that, as I had had a fantastic Dictaphone at University, it seemed to be a logical solution and alternative to intensive note taking and making notes on scraps of paper. After previous positive experiences with the Olympus brand I had no hesitation in purchasing this when I came across it in a local store. I paid a mere £14.99 for it and it has made my work life a heck of a lot easier!

Olympus are a top quality brand name especially when it comes to the Dictaphone market so I knew what to expect here. This is one of their cheapest models and will suit most casual users. If you are going to recording hours and hours and hours of info on a regular basis that you wish to store and save then this may be too basic for you, but for a simple device with reliable recording functionality this is ideal.

The first thing you will notice about this is that's its nice and compact, by which I mean small but not "too" small that it becomes fiddly. It is easy to handle, easy to operate and even a technology novice will have it recording what he/she wants in minutes. Perfect!

It only takes one push of the button usually to get it to do what you want. Its so intuitive and simple that it really works a treat! I have had no issues using this and that's without reading the short manual which shows how easy it is. Start, stop, save, pause, erase....all done easily! The backlit LED screen is clear and vivid and the device runs off normal rechargeable batteries

The sound quality is the main selling point here though and this little device picks it up with a crisp clarity I was surprised at. Its really surprising how clear this is and it has little if any interference, no crackling and picks up clearly from quite a range. I honestly was gobsmacked when I played this back for the first time.
At 1.5gb of memory its ample for most people unless, as I said, you want to record streams of audio its fine. It records my weekly training sessions and meetings with ease and plenty room for the 10-15 or so audio notes I leave myself during the day! Its just ideal and there is little more I can say.

Everything is so simple to use, reliable and quality that I would struggle to recommend another brand or model than this!

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