[UPDATE: These devices are now available in different places. Haven’t tried any of them myself.]
[UPDATE: Purchased an iRiver H120 jukebox/recorder.]
We’ve known for a while that the Fifth Generation iPod (with Video) could do “CD-quality” audio recording but there hasn’t been a compatible microphone for it. Actually, the Apple Store online still doesn’t seem to list a microphone compatible with the iPod 5G’s dock connector but the instruction on Recording voice memos from Apple do talk about such a microphone:
1. Connect a microphone to your iPod. On the Fifth Generation iPod, connect the microphone to the dock connector. For older iPod models that support recording voice memos, connect the microphone to the Headphones port on your iPod.
2. The Voice Memo screen appears.
3. On the Fifth Generation iPod, you can choose the recording quality by setting Quality to either Mono or Stereo. Select “Mono” quality (22 kHz, mono) to save space, or “Stereo” quality (44.1 kHz, stereo) for a better sound.
4. To begin recording, select Record.
5. Hold the microphone a few inches from your mouth and speak. To pause recording, select Pause.
6. When you finish, select Stop and Save. Your saved recording is listed by date and time.
The page has allegedly been created and changed in January. Been waiting for this…
hello,
do you know if we still can’t get a 5G Voice Recorder?
Thank you for your answer,
Cyril
Apparently, all three products (XtremeMac MicroMemo, Belkin TuneTalk, and Griffin Technology iTalk Pro) are set to be released soon, but not yet.
I mailed both Belkin & Griffin on July 11th 2006 (less than one week ago as I write) and received a response from both of them the next day. My question to both was basically when I could expect to be able to buy their 44.1khz recorder for 5Gen Ipod, given that I’m in Australia.
Belkin:
“We will be receiving our first shipments of the Belkin TuneTalk Stereo early to mid August of this year.”
Griffin:
“We are working on that product but no release date has been set. Our apologies for the inconvenience.”
Given the comparative responses, I’ll probably opt for the Belkin if they’re released simultaneously, because they actually took the time to research my question. But they’ll probably not be released simutaneously, so I’ll probably opt for the first one out the door, having read that they’re pretty similar in specs and will probably do pretty much the same thing.
There must be an issue the three companies are trying to work out as the three devices have all been previewed and release dates had been announced. Maybe they need Apple to release a firmware update.
This is really a case for Eliot Spitzer – Apple was extremely misleading about the availability of recording with the video iPod.
The Edirol R-09 looks like the best of the direct to MP3 recorders.
Interesting point about Spitzer. On the other hand, one could argue that they didn’t really push the recording capabilities as a major selling point. The main thing that people saw was a mention on a webpage describing the then-new fifth-generation iPod about 44.1 kHz recording. The blogosphere then did the rounds until the three equipment manufacturers coming out with microphone adapters announced their products. And, at this point, it’s still unclear how the iPod with microphone adapter will really perform in the field.
There are several good portable recorders, some of which do record directly in MP3.
Here are guides about audio equipment for field recording.
Wiki on fieldwork
Vermont folklife equipment guide
So far, my experience with the iRiver H120 as a recorder has been a rather positive one. Will (hopefully) post more information soon.
How do you rate zunes from microsoft?
Kevin,
I haven’t tried a Zune but from what I could gather, they’re too crippled to be really useful.