SonyDigital Flash Voice Recorder (ICD-PX312)

(Actually 4.5 Star review)I bought this recorder because I wanted a voice recorder to record my conversations with my grandfather, but it has become so much more.In one of my classes, I began recording the lectures, and it picks up on everything said, even very quiet, almost whispered comments. My teacher has complimented the quality of it several times, and even intends to purchase one for himself.It is easy to operate and download the files to the computer, and it automatically records the date on the file, so it is easy to determine which one you are looking at. People complained about the software, and I didn't use much of it, but I did use it to cut the files up into "bite-sized" pieces, so I don't think it is worthless as people claim, it just isn't anything fancy or expensive, but then it was free.Also, I LOVE the battery life this thing gets. I have been recording to the point that I have almost filled the entire internal memory, and the first notch of battery life just went down (out of four).I only have 2 issues with this recorder:1) It makes an initial beep when you first begin and end a recording, and I cannot find any option to turn it off, and even turning the volume all the way down does not lower the volume on the beep. This can be bothersome when trying to record in a quiet or more formal situation. I have found, though, that if I just have headphones plugged into the earphone jack, it takes care of this problem.2) The second problem is that I dropped it off of a desk onto a carpeted floor (less than 3 feet), and now the display has dead pixels. I feel like it ought to be slightly more durable than this, but it doesn't affect the recording quality or anything. This might also be due to the fact that it was refurbished.Overall, I have found this recorder to be worth every penny of what I spent on it; it has been an amazing tool, and one which I am coming to appreciate more in various situations.

Although I was hesitant on the price (I'm a grad student), it is much better than the previous Sony recorders I have used (2 others, cheaper models around $30). I am a pharmacy student at the University of Iowa, and I prefer to record my lectures because it is difficult to write down everything I think is necessary for comprehension. So although I don't use this for recording music, concerts, etc., I can speak from a standpoint of lecture recording. I was surprised at this recorder's ability to ignore extraneous sound. With my previous recorders I would ask my professor if it was okay to put the recorder at, or near the podium to record the best sound, especially if the room had a noisy heater/air conditioner, or other background noises. There is also a lot of noise from fellow students shuffling papers, looking through notes, getting in their bags, etc. With this recorder I am able to keep it as my desk (as long as I am careful not to ruffle my notes because it is so close, or cough into the microphone) and it picks up the professor even when I have a hard time hearing the professor in lecture. So, overall,Pro's:Durable (I have dropped it several times and it's fine)Mini-USB transport (very common)Convenient On/Off/hold buttonEasy navigation between folders (great for recording different classes and keeping them all together)MicroSD chip (I haven't used this but it would greatly expand memory).Takes 2 AAA batteries, easy to findMicrophone in & headphone out portExtra functions (T-mark, scene) which I don't use but could be useful to othersEasy transfer to computer (I downloaded FREE software/driver from the Sony website - very simple and picks up any folders to which I transferred the MP3 files)Con's:You are not going to get what you would pay for a $100 or more recorder. However, for recording lectures or something similar where there is a significant amount of background noise, this recorder does a good job.