Olympus WS-210S Voice Recorder (141960) (Brown)

Comparison to Olympus VN-3100PC

Pros:

WS-210S has a much greater frequency response (especially in Stereo XQ mode), which I find useful in being able to later understand what I whispered VERY softly while trying not to awaken my spouse when I had an idea in bed late at night. This is the major reason I upgraded, and I am quite happy with this feature.

When playing back a recording and stopping in the middle to transcribe what you just played back, then when you hit the play (>/OK) button to resume playback, it backs up just a little so you can hear what was being said just before the point where you hit the STOP button. This is exactly how a transcription player or software works, and it definitely is the right answer. I am overjoyed!

There is no need for a mini-USB cable to connect to a PC. This is probably a bigger feature for folks who travel a lot, who now no longer need to worry about taking and finding and not losing the...Read more

I bought this recorder for use during face to face interviews and recording press conferences. Works great in both quiet and noisier environments. The stereo recording capability of this recorder does give it an edge over the mono models as the recordings do come out a lot clearer. Even at the lowest recording quality (out of the 3 that are selectable), it still comes out very clear.

Battery life is quite good with alkaline batteries, I can probably get 20 hours or more of on/off use.

Works well with a Mac, just plug it into a free USB port and it shows up as a device on your Finder. The files are in WMA format so it does require a Quicktime plugin to read that format. I'd suggest something like VLC Player which is free and painless to use.

Highly recommended!

An accessory which you should consider if you want to record phone conversations, it works beautifully as a cheap phone recorder...Read more

UPDATE: Following is a comparison between this unit and the ws-311m, but after only 2 months that unit broke. It's the second Olympus I've had that broke very easily, so now I'm switching to Sony.


I ordered this from Amazon, and then found a local deal on the WS-311M, which a teacher of mine uses. Being just a little type A, I played around with both of them to decide which to keep, and I've decided on the WS-311M.

Basically, the recorders seem to be identical in terms of ability and sound quality with few exceptions.

DIFFERENCES


--The WS-311M can also be used as a music player, though I don't really care about that.

--The WS-311M is a teeny-tiny bit larger and feels a little less plastic-y (though both are made of plastic). The bigger size and brighter color is actually a small plus for me, as I kept having a hard time finding the WS-210S in my bag.

--Most important for me, the WS-311M...Read more