ipod

Let's go through the few pros before discussing the cons:
•It's small.
•It's an ergonomically sound shape, all things considered.
•It has a microphone.
•You can record to your iPod directly.
•I got it for really cheap.
•Useful when it works.
•Does not mess up on long recordings(22 minutes I have done without breaking a sweat, i.e. having to reset the 'pod).

Cons:
•Picks up a significant amount of sound when the iPod's hard disk spins. (Inevitable, but a bother.)
•Very low definition/low quality recordings.
•Freezes the iPod constantly, requiring a reset.
•Occasionally the iPod must be reset for it to turn on after using the recorder.
•High MSRP/SRP for what you get.
•Records to WAV.
•Distorted recording if it is sitting on my desk and I talk loudly into it(about two feet away).
•Does not do well with background noise(it picks up all of it and sounds terrible).
•Belkin cannot justify it being a bad quality device(phone support tells me that the only stipulation of the device is that it requires iPod firmware 2.1 or higher).
•Sometimes does not record.
•Sometimes says it's recording but actually isn't.
•Sometimes illuminates recording light when it isn't actually recording.

Okay, so WAV format I can deal with, but crappy recording quality I cannot deal with. Belkin, you have failed. Maybe it's just that it's difficult to make a functional, integrated voice recorder that's good quality... for the iPod. I don't hear great raves about the iTalk by Griffin, so maybe this is the case.

Although I experienced problems, I made several recordings that I am happy with before the Belkin iPod Voice Recorder finally broke. Along the way, however, it caused my iPod to freeze, necessitating frequent restarts. One particularly frustrating problem was it occasionally seemed to record fine while actually failing to record anything. Again, only a restart would solve this problem. Of course those problems might be software issues that Apple is responsible for. Nevertheless, Belkin are to blame for the worst problem of all. Finally, I had it attached to my iPod in my pocket, and when I took it out the voice recorder had broken off at the microphone plug. It is so fragile it can break just by simply inserting or removing it from an iPod. It seems Belkin are aware of how fragile it is since they include a protective plastic cover. But that's really a poor solution. The plastic cover only protects it when it's unplugged. And there's no reason it has to be so fragile to begin with. Ironically, since I was in China when it broke, I can't help but think the Belkin iPod Voice Recorder is like one of those cheap Chairman Mao watches that stops working soon after you buy it.

I bought this to use for recordings of my chorus rehearsal.
It froze the iPod.
It lacks the most basic automatic gain control, and clip-distorts anything above a quiet speaking voice.
Alas, I had it longer than 30 days to before I could fully test it.

Some useful lore, if you're one of the unfortunate souls stuck with this device:
Put a piece of cellophane tape over the condenser mike hole (not the speaker holes, the microphone hole.) That attenuates the sound so it's actually useful.

While you're using the device, keep poking at the menus so the iPod NEVER goes to sleep. That seems to prevent the hangups.

Belkin, if you're listening, this device is crap.