Olympus DS-3000 Recorder

For anyone who depends on dictation.

The Olympus DS-3000 Digital Voice Recorder is a useful tool for anyone who depends on dictation in his or her work.

Some people prefer dictation to typing all the time. Others, when they're out of the office, prefer dictation to entering text with a stylus on a hand-held PDA. If you belong in either (or both) groups, the Olympus DS-3000 Digital Voice Recorder may be your solution.

Weighing just 3 ounces with two triple-A batteries and measuring 4.3 by 2.0 by 0.7 inches, the Olympus DS-3000 is an unobtrusive travelling companion. The device also fits comfortably in your hand for dictation, though voice actuation works well enough that you can put the Olympus DS-3000 on your desk while you record and not have to worry about hitting a pause button when you're thinking about what to say next.

With the 16MB SmartMedia card that comes with the recorder, you get roughly 2 hours 35 minutes of recording time in SP mode (12-kHz sampling rate, 300- to 5,000-Hz frequency response) or 5 hours 20 minutes in LP mode (8-kHz sampling rate, 300- to 3,000-Hz frequency response, or about the same as a standard phone line). With a 64MB card, multiply those times by about four. All files are stored in compressed Digital Speech Standard format. Claimed battery life with alkaline batteries is 11 hours.

The DS-3000 includes three folders, so you can, for example, store memos in one folder, reminders in another, and new contact information in a third. You can also record up to 199 files in each folder, append to already existing files, insert into the middle of an already existing file, move files between folders, and more.

The recorder comes with dictation software that lets you manage and listen to the files on your PC for transcribing with voice recognition software. Once the software is installed, simply plug the DS-3000 into your PC using the supplied USB cable and the software loads automatically. You can then move the files to your system. The software lets you convert the files to WAV format, and you have the ability to speed up or slow down playback.

The controls on the recorder are less than intuitive; count on having to refer to the manual often. Also, the software would be easier to use if it had single-key commands rather than key combinations and showed those commands on the main screen. Even with these oversights, however, the Olympus DS- 3000 Digital Voice Recorder is a useful tool for anyone who depends on dictation in his or her work.