Olympus DS-2600 Digital Voice Recorder with Docking Station, Rechargeable Batteries, Case & Olympus Dictation Software

Previous Olympus Dictaphone models with a slide switch have been at much higher price points. This model is a relatively great price. The slide switch to record is a must. Other less expensive models have a push button to records and my experience is that these are not user friendly (you will find that you have been dictating only to realize that record mode was not on). The higher end of the current Olympus models comes with wifi connectivity, but I personally can't justify the much higher price for a feature that doesn't seem very practical. This model is a great option.

This one doesn't quite make the cut. Using the slide to start/stop during dictation results in gaps in dictation as it doesn't seem to start as soon as you slide the button up. It is also very easy to slide the button too far down and to stop recording which take a second or two before you can dictate again. Voice activation on a cheap recorder works almost as well as you can control with the slider. I also assumed that the software that you download would allow you to use a USB cable to attach the recorder and computer to sync files, but that doesn't work. You have to use the dock to be able to sync directly from the recorder. Since I work in more than one location, I have to use removable memory to load the files onto the computer or I would have to haul the dock with me. Overall, this recorder feels like it isn't' ready for prime time, feels very dated, and certainly isn't worth the money.