In preparing for Leadership Day 2009 (a day of advocacy planned by Scott McLeod from Dangerously Irrelevant.org) I wanted to talk to students about what they thought about how technology was being used in their schools. For this I needed a digital voice recorder.
I went to Best Buy only to find $60-$120 recorders that were only Windows supported. I looked online and found the Griffin iTalk recorder that plugs into your iPod. This lists at around $19.95 on Amazon.
I did not have time to wait for it to arrive, so I took at look at some Apps for my iPhone. I found a few and had to do some comparing.
My criteria were:
- file type
- audio quality
- ease of file transfer
First, I tried the built-in Voice Memo App that came with the 3.0 software
update. This allowed me record for a long time, but when I tried to email the file to myself (it was 10 min. long) I was only able to send a little over a minute’s worth of the recording.
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I realized that I would need an alternative method of transfer. Through reading reviews and descriptions, I found that SpeakEasy Voice Recorder ($1.99), put out by Zarboo Software had a software that you could download to sync the App with your iPhone/iTouch. However, after reading some reviews, I chose not to use it due to complaints of sync problems with the software.
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![](https://i0.wp.com/1.bp.blogspot.com/_OMKtt_3pJhw/SlaTubCfr5I/AAAAAAAAARk/9_cg_bgH_sU/s200/Picture+2.png?w=1170)
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I am not saying that iTalk is the be-all, end-all in Voice Recorders for the iPhone (considering I only actually tried 2!). However, I found it easy to use, and I was able to record my interview and import it into GarageBand for editing. I also saved a lot of money by buying a $5.00 App rather than a $50 device or a $20 + shipping device.
I am looking forward to finding more uses for this App, hopefully for podcasting with students.
Anonymous
mshertz