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Voice Recorder

by Yan Matusevich on 8/7/10 11:02 PM

Tested version: 2.0.7
Latest version: 2.2.8
Requires Android: from 1.5

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Summary

Every then and now you come across a situation where you may need to record short audio message with your phone on the fly. Unfortunately, Android lacks a built-in tool for voice memos, so a separate application needs to be installed. In today’s test I’m taking a good look at Voice Recorder, an app with an appealing range of functions.

Features & Use

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Before I get started reviewing this app, I would like to mention the fact that Voice Recorder also comes with a widget. The widget is easy to find in your normal widget list and is made up of a start/stop button with a time display. The best thing about is that you can record audio clips in a flash with just one single click.

Let’s now turn our attention to the actual app: Voice Recorder is very minimalist in its interface. The main screen is composed of a time display at the top, a record button and a scrollable list of recorded files. This means that you can easily access you recorded memos via the app itself. You can also open the files directly from the SD card by looking in the com.tokasiki.android.voicerecorder Folder on your memory card.
Sadly, the files don’t include their user-generated names and are listed only according to time and date. As you can see, it’s much easier and faster to listen to your files directly with the app.

A Save As window opens up automatically once you’ve recorded a memo and have pressed the Stop button. Here you can name the file (you can do this via audio input if available on your device), save the file or save and send (via Gmail or Bluetooth). The sending feature worked without any problem during our test. The time and date of the audio recording becomes its file name by default if no other name is assigned. A speaker is displayed in the time display during recording. Before talking about the menu and other options, I would like to point out a few things relating to the audio quality.

Unfortunately, Voice Recorder saves memos as 3GP files rather than mp3s. Most mobile phones won’t have a problem with 3GP files, but this isn’t the case with computers. Most PCs require an extra player or the appropriate plug-ins to be able to play 3GPs; an mp3 format would have been a lot more user-friendly. The sound quality is unreliable just like with most mobile phones whether Nokias, Motorolas or Siemens. The voice memos come out a bit too quiet and high-pitched, but are nonetheless easy to understand. Forget about recording sounds or music because the sound quality will kill your ears. There’s really no excuse for not making the necessary improvements given the fact that modern phones have enough memory, faster processors and better mics. I still haven’t come across a sound recorder that produced really good results.

When you select a recorded audio file with Voice Recorder, you have the following options available:

  • Play
  • Send (With Gmail or Bluetooth)
  • Ringtone (Set Recording as Ringtone)
  • Edit Title
  • Delete

Additional features are available in the main menu (accessible via the menu button):

  • Search by Time and Date
  • Timer Recording: Starts recording at a given time automatically from 5 to 180 minutes.
  • Delete/Synch
  • Preferences: Recording options (Non-Stop, Hide Voice Files from Android Music Player) and email options (Subject/Recipient)
  • Donation/Option: You can purchase extra plug-ins that give you more options: Save in mp3 format ($1.80), Record phone calls ($1.40) and send recordings automatically per email ($0.90)

It should be mentioned that the volume settings return to normal after you quit Voice Recorder. When you start-up Voice Recorder the next time, the volume returns to the same level as it was in your last session.

Screen & Controls

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Voice Recorder is very well-organized and therefore extremely easy to use. The widget is also very useful and let’s you record audio directly from your home screen.

Speed & Stability

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I found a small glitch in the app that repeated itself multiple times. If you don’t select anything in the Save window, the screen of your Android phone shuts off as usual. The problem is that afterwards Voice Recorder ceases to respond to any attempts to record any new memos. You have to either force quit the app using the task manager or delete any audio file – both solutions work. Otherwise, I didn’t encounter any other issues. Voice Recorder runs fast and is definitely reliable.

Price/Performance Ratio

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This is a tricky one. On the one hand, Voice Recorder can be downloaded for free, but on the other hand, most of its best features can only be downloaded at a cost. The mp3 feature should be built-in to the free version of the app. Regardless of all these drawbacks, Voice Recorder is a speech recorder that works well, but – like most of its competitors - it definitely is lacking in terms of voice quality.

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Market Comments

Robert, Oct 3, 2012
"the charge" The EULA this thing comes with is riddled with the words "the charge" in such a way to imply it won't work till user pays - play store said it was free but I would not agree to EULA due terminology used. Suspicion: Not free. digipom's offering suffers no such bs, easy voice recorder
Sivet, Oct 3, 2012
Excellent! I use this to record class lectures ! Runs in background and you can use other phone functions
Shane, Oct 3, 2012
Works, Lost Data Running on LG Lucid. It runs as it should for the most part. I've had a couple of instances where the recording stops a few minutes in for no reason I can find. The quality is lacking, perhaps due to my phone, as I've tried no other recording app. The main issue I have is getting the files from the phone. I really needed to record an exam review today, so I did. I get home, attempt to send it to myself. It sends an empty email with only a subject. I connected to my PC and scoured the folders in search of the file. I could not find the files. I looked in the places that were suggested by other users. I then looked at my phone and found that the file was gone. My review that I needed is no longer here. I'm very disappointed that I've put faith in this app and it failed me when I needed it, plus I can not find any of the files. The settings include no option for a save location. Do yourself a favor and buy a digital recorder if you care to listen to the files again.
Deacon Kevin, Oct 3, 2012
Good program but It has a nasty habit of crashing on start up and not stopping recording when you touch stop
yi, Oct 3, 2012
quick question so far so good, but how can i move the record i made to the laptop? anyone knows?
Robert, Oct 2, 2012
EULA issues. Article 2, section 3: The word "sail" should be "sale". Just thought you should know.
Mohammed Sakher, Oct 1, 2012
Cant start in android 2 In Optimus Hub
mohamed, Sep 29, 2012
Super Good
Trey, Sep 28, 2012
It's failing again fix it please I recorded music before uninstalled lost it reinstalled and had nothing then recorded more music don't want to have to do it again Outher wise great app Trying to record. A song but it keeps crashing I reported it about. 2 or 3 or 4 times.
Jennifer, Sep 27, 2012
Terrible There are no navigation options on playback. No pause, rewind, forward. When you stop it upon playback to write something down, there is no 'resume' option. You have to start again from the beginning. Ugh.
luis, Sep 27, 2012
A solid app I use it on my T-Mobile Sidekick and it works well.
dilworthdude, Sep 27, 2012
Great app that works well Motorola MB 886 on Android version 4.0.4. Works crazy well discreetly recording calls with the push of the icon button! AAAAA++++++ Application! Thanks to developers!
Jenna, Sep 25, 2012
Don't download just don't I'll have it recording and my phone shuts off and nothing I have recorded-or attempted to record-was saved. Terrible app. No wonder its free.
Norma, Sep 24, 2012
Grabacion de Family
Wade, Sep 24, 2012
Works good on some phones. On my Sony Experia Play this works great! It records as long as needed without interruption! But on my Droid Razr this stops after a half hour! I lost two thirds on my pastor's sermon because I thought it was recording!
Mhmd2012, Sep 23, 2012
Mdeha
Amanda, Sep 23, 2012
Armand Intalled worked great first time then stopped recording force stop
Ruthless, Sep 21, 2012
wish it worked better on my phone I am using this app on a Motorola MB855 (Photon) from Sprint. Every time I use this app, after the first 10 or 11 minutes, it still shows that it is recording but when the file is played back, there is no conversation after the 10 or 11 minutes. If there is a fix for this, I'd love to know. I think that the app works great but I wish I could record for more than just 10 or 11 minutes.
Sesllryn, Sep 20, 2012
Voice recorder Best recorder
Leah, Sep 20, 2012
Issues with Titles When I save the file with a name I choose and then "Save and Send" it to my cloud storage, it only saves the date/time stamp and NOT the title I gave it... does anyone know how to fix this?? Other than that it is a very user friendly app and I'd like to use it if I can fix the title issue!
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