Olympus updates voice recorders

Olympus America today launched several new digital voice recorders -- the DS-2220 high-performance model ($290) and four versions of the VN-Series.

The DS-220 (pictured) has a stereo microphone, which lets the device pick up both sides of a conversation with the same clarity, Olympus said. The device can record four hours and 20 minutes (at the highest quality setting), as it has a 128M-byte removable xD-Picture card. In "long play" mode, the device can record almost 45 hours. The device can also play back recordings in slow time (up to 25% slower than real time) or fast time (50% faster than real time). Slow time means that users are less likely to have to rewind, and with fast playback users can skip ahead to other parts of the recording. In addition, the device can be used to record personalized "alarms" for events such as meetings, show reminders, or even wake-up calls.

The DS-220 comes with a USB docking station (for PC or Macintosh) that lets users upload voice files to the computer. Both images and recordings can be saved on the xD-Picture Card, making the card available for use on Olympus and other xD-compatible digital cameras. The device is expected to be available in May.

The four new VN-Series models include the VN-480 (64M bytes of memory with up to eight hours recording in LP mode), the VN-240 and VN-240PC digital recorders (32M bytes of memory with up to four hours of recording), and the VN-120 (16M bytes of memory for up to two hours of recording). The new models also let users play back in slow time (20% slower) and fast time (30% faster than normal). The devices run on two AAA batteries. The VN-120 ($40), VN-240 ($60), and VN-480 ($80) will be available later this month, and the VN-240PC ($80) will be available in April. The VN-240PC includes Digital Wave Player software, an ear phone and USB cable.

For more details on these recorders, go to the Olympus Web site.