IPod Voice Memos

Chances are, dear reader, you're looking for a portable voice recorder. You want it to be easy to use. And you want it to create audio files in standard formats, so your recordings can be easily shared or burned onto CD.

I know what you're probably thinking right now: This guy is clairvoyant! How does he know this? Here's how: I read my e-mail. And I've received tons from readers asking me about portable voice recording devices.

Fact is, if you have an Apple IPod (excluding the Mini, Nano, and Shuffle models), you've already got what you're looking for. I've used my fourth-generation 20GB IPod to record meetings as well as telephone conversations. (Note: By law, this requires the consent of whomever you're recording.) While the audio isn't exactly CD quality, it's fine for my purposes: to have a record of a meeting or conversation for note-taking purposes later.

Here's what you need to know to make voice recordings with your IPod:

The software is already on your IPod. Apple added the Voice Memos application to IPod software beginning with version 2.1, released in October 2003. Currently, only the full-sized IPods, beginning with the third-generation models, support voice recording. Some competing digital audio players, such as the IRiver H10, have recording capabilities built in.

You'll need to accessorize. To make a voice recording on your IPod, you'll need to a way to connect a microphone. For the most flexibility, I recommend Belkin's Universal Microphone Adapter ($30), because it allows you to use any standard audio microphone with a 3.5-millimeter plug with your IPod. PC World's Product Finder has the latest pricing.

Here's another option: Griffin Technology's ITalk ($40). This gadget features a built-in microphone, a small speaker, and a pass-through headset mini jack. Recording quality, in my experience, is good. For the latest pricing, go to our Product Finder.

Recording phone conversations is more involved. In my work as a journalist, I often need to record telephone interviews. For that, I use my IPod along with the Wireless Phone Recording Controller from RadioShack ($25) and Belkin's aforementioned Universal Microphone Adapter.

Here's how it works: I plug the RadioShack controller into my portable landline phone's headset jack. Then I connect my telephone headset into a jack on the RadioShack recording controller and turn on the controller. The RadioShack device is, in turn, plugged into the Belkin Universal Microphone Adapter, which itself is connected to my IPod. Then I go to the Voice Memos utility on my IPod and start recording. It sounds complicated, but it's not. (To ensure you're on legal footing, always ask the people you're talking to if it's okay to record them.)

RadioShack has other phone recording controllers, but I've gotten the best results so far from the Wireless Phone Recording Controller. That?s probably because this device, unlike most other Radio Shack recording aids, requires batteries to operate, and the battery power helps boost recording quality.

You can share your recordings. The IPod saves your audio recordings in .wav files (a standard Windows audio format), and the files are transferred to your computer when you sync your IPod. That means you can e-mail a recording of a meeting or conversation to coworkers, employees, and other questionable characters. But heads-up: Voice memo files can get too big to share via e-mail. You could post them to an FTP server, if you have access to one, or burn them to CD. A recording I made of a one-hour phone conversation was 64MB, for example.

I've stopped using a microcassette recorder to capture meetings and phone conversations in favor of my IPod.

No longer must I frantically search for a blank tape minutes before a phone interview. I can archive the IPod recordings on my computer, where they're easy to find; it sure beats digging through a drawer searching for a tape. I can listen to my voice recordings anywhere my IPod goes--in the car, on a plane, while jogging, and so on.

But the real reason you should dump your microcassette recorder? People think it's cool when you use your IPod to record your meeting with them.