Sony ICD-BX800 2 GB Flash Memory Digital Voice Recorder (Silver)

I know I have to do this justice because I've been looking for a decent review of this product for the last hour. This is my first digital audio recorder and it's pretty amazing this simple gadget has so many functions.

I like the VOR function where it will automatically stop recording once the person stops talking. I'm using this for audio dictation so it's useful when the person talking will pause. It also has 534 hours of recording time which is much more than I can use but happy to have access to. For a first time user, this rocks because I used to use tapes and they suck. Now that I've gone digital I can have access to clear audio with all the cool functions I may need.

I promised I wouldn't go crazy over a fancy one because my needs were very basic and it didn't justify to over $100 price range.

The only drawback was lack of a USB port to connect to my computer but in fact I don't need it because I'm using it for my own dictation which...Read more

I purchased mine at Walmart and after learning all it's features I have to say I'm extremely impressed.

1) This can connect to your PC via a mini male RCA pin on each end of the wire. The same wire you would use for an MP3 player.

2) Connect from recorder's earplug to your PC'S input on laptops (sound-card on Desktops) and Record "What You Hear". Of course you can control the bit-rate of the recording if you choose to.

3) You can also play it through your car stereo if it has an auxiliary input, many cars today do. Use the same wire you would use for an MP3 player.

4) You can make a recording and set an alarm to it to go off daily, weekly, etc. I made one screaming at myself to get out of bed and get to work. Even if it's off and the hold key is set to hold, the alarm still goes off daily.

5) I recorded a live 50's band just having the unit on our table and was really surprised how clear the recording was when I played...Read more

For several years now, Sony has offered several audio recorders in this style, and also more expensive versions like the ICD-PX820. One of the most important features has been a USB port that allowed you to download recordings to your PC using Sony software. It's a very logical feature, much the same as being able to download images from a digital camera to your PC. After I got the ICD-BX800 to the office where I use it, I was shocked to see the USB port was gone. This means you have no way to permanently store audio recordings. I can't imagine what the engineers at Sony were thinking. I may have to take this back and spend a lot more money for another recorder that allows me to keep copies of my recordings. This is really a critical flaw. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this product at all.