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Best iPhone Voice Recorder Roundup

Monday August 4, 2008 6:35 pm PDT by Arnold Kim
iLounge provides an extensive roundup of all of the iPhone voice recorders presently available in the App store. These apps are, of course, only compatible with the iPhone and not the iPod touch due to a lack of built-in microphone for the iPod touch. A summary of their ratings are provided here (prices link to App Store):

• Voice Memos ($4.99, D) - no-frills. no way to get recordings off iPhone.
• Voice Notes (Free, C-) - no-frills. easy to accidently delete recording. no export.
• VoiceRecord ($0.99, B-) - slightly more polished. no pause, no export
• SpeakEasy Voice Recorder ($1.99, B+) - polished. level meter, adjust quality. no export
• Audio Recorder ($2.99, B) - email recordings out of iPhone.
• QuickVoice Recorder ($1.99, B-) - transfer recordings out to Mac or PC. pause/resume.
• Recordifier ($4.99, C) - no pause/resume. no export.
• Recorder ($0.99, B-) - basic recorder. email recordings out of iPhone. no pause.
• Note2Self ($2.99, B+) - designed to email recordings out of iPhone. accelerometer detects usage.
• EccoNote (Free, C-) - poor interface.
• iRecorder ($0.99, B-) - works as advertised. standard UI. no export.
• YouNote (Free, C) - note taking
• Jott (Free, B-) - part of Jott service to record and transcribe to do's.


While iLounge's top picks include SpeakEasy Voice Recorder [App Store] and Note2Self [App Store], it's clear the best choice will depend on your usage. While Note2Self seems well designed for recording personal reminders, it would be less useful for recording lectures. If recording lectures is your goal, it would seem Audio Recorder [App Store] or QuickVoice Recorder [App Store] might be more useful with the ability to get recordings out of your iPhone and onto your Mac.

iLounge provides a much more in-depth look at each application in their review.
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akac
Posted: 50 months ago
Wow. Wow. We made Note2Self and we're really happy to see this. I think version 1.1 will make people happy - location saving of notes, naming of notes, pausing of recordings, and more. If all goes well - up on App store this week.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
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roland.g
Posted: 50 months ago
Do any of these make it possible to record both sides of a phone call?

Or is that a legal no-no type thing?
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
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stratmancj
Posted: 50 months ago
do any of these make it possible to record a concert? do and have a limiter if the volume is too loud?
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
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soundsgoodtome
Posted: 50 months ago
iLounge missed one: Evernote.

Records audio *and* posts it to their servers, where you can access it from any web browser or the Evernote desktop app for listening or emailing to someone.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
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Ding.Dong
Posted: 50 months ago
VoiceNotes just did an update with the ability to record longer notes and sync them with your computer. I haven't tried syncing yet so I don't know how easy it is.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
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rachaface
Posted: 50 months ago

iLounge missed one: Evernote.

Records audio *and* posts it to their servers, where you can access it from any web browser or the Evernote desktop app for listening or emailing to someone.


i second this app - it's free and it will sync to their website. the only downside is it limits to 60 second recordings (so if youre a songwriter like myself, potential melody recordings might be tough).
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
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Xtal
Posted: 50 months ago
I like "Audio Recorder" for the ability to add audio to existing recordings, in addition to its email export capability.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
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Manatee
Posted: 50 months ago

Do any of these make it possible to record both sides of a phone call?

Or is that a legal no-no type thing?

There are legal issues with that, depending on where you are. Either the SDK prevents apps from recording phone conversations, or Apple prohibits such apps from the App Store. I'm not sure at what level it is enforced.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
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Manatee
Posted: 50 months ago
I like the reviews at iLounge. Of these, SpeakEasy looks like the one for me -- when they add the ability to get the recordings off the phone.

On the developer's website it says this feature will be coming.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
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jayducharme
Posted: 50 months ago
I've been happy with QuickVoice. The audio quality is clear and acceptable for voice recording. I used to carry around a separate digital voice recorder for doing interviews, so now my iPhone can supplant yet another extra electronic device. I like how there's no limit to the time on QuickVoice, and I really like being able to transfer the files to my Mac.

Now I'm waiting for Griffin or Belkin to create a high-quality stereo mic connector for this iPhone so I can do stereo field recording and eliminate yet another extra device!
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives

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