Gomadic Intelligent Compact AC Home Wall Charger for the Palm palm Zire 31 - High output power with

• Advanced state-of-the-art internal circuitry protects the Palm palm Zire 31 from power surges, overcharging, and short-circuiting, to significantly extend the internal battery lifecycle.
• Gomadic Powerful High Wattage wall charger for home or travel use. Customized circuit design is based on the latest in power regulation and is tailored to the precise output voltage and resistor ID requirements of the Palm palm Zire 31 (accurate to 0.1v!)
• Power Sleep"" feature reduces vampire power draw 99%. Charger will consume less than 0.1W of power when in ""dormant state"" (e.g. not connected to the Palm palm Zire 31).
• TipExchange Technology protects your investment, by providing a means to change/upgrade your charger by simply swapping the physical charging tip. (Charging tip for Palm palm Zire 31) included with additional tips sold separately)
• Charger works on power voltage levels worldwide by supporting a wide input range of 100-240v AC / 50-60 Hz.

The charger works great. I like the fact that I can replace just the part that makes it fit the Palm Zire 31 and should cost less next time (if there is a next time). Like the prongs folding down for storage too.

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PDair T41 Black Leather Case for Huawei Vision U8850-1

awesome but when you charge it you have to charge,you have to keep the case open.without that its perfect...hope you guys buy the other type of flip case(landscape one)

rooCASE Tablet Carrying Bag for HP TouchPad 9.7-Inch Tablet - Deluxe Series Dark Blue / Black

• Non-OEM Case for HP TouchPad 9.7-Inch Tablet
• Padded Tablet Compartment with Velcro Strap (Netbook NOT Included)
• Front Zip-Down for Charger Adapter, Pens, Business Cards and Passport.
• Lots of Storage Compartments Thourghout. Adjustable Padded Shoulder Strap. Strap for Rolling Upright.
• Available in Black, Dark Blue, Pink and Red. Search: rooCASE Deluxe HP TouchPad 9.7-Inch Tablet

This case is both functional and tough. It holds my Touchpad, keyboard, dock, an extra cord and plug, and the stylus, has plenty more room and pockets, and manages to still feel compact. So far, I haven't found use for the shoulder strap, since it is easily small enough to just carry. I am sure it will come in handy when I am travelling, though.

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Acer RL70-UR308 Desktop (Black)

• AMD Processor E-450 (1.65GHz, 1MB L2 Cache)
• 2GB DDR3
• 500 GB SATA Hard Drive
• Windows 8

If you are into home media systems this is a great idea. Add 2gb of 204-pin, DDR3, PC3-10600 memory (about $15) and you will have a fantastic system. Even though this is a "desktop" computer, it uses lap-top memory. Before I got it, I did a lot of research just to confirm what kind of memory it takes. It was the 204-pin part that was hard to confirm, but once you get it, it's fairly easy to install.

It comes with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard which work great for me from 10' away. Add a good media player, sit-back and enjoy. I am using XBMC but Media Monkey and WMP are okay too. I just got this yesterday evening and have spent most of the day getting it set-up and loaded with all my MP3s. So far I'm thrilled.

Windows 8 is a bit of an adjustment. It has a really different look and feel, but seems to be a lot like windows 7 under the hood. I'll update this if anything of note comes up.

12/20 update: Forgot to mention that documentation is minimal and quite poor, though not really necessary. I found some assistance on the web/youtube regarding the memory upgrade. There is one screw to remove which holds the case together,and you'll want to use a plastic credit card to pry the case apart. It snaps back together easily and you replace the screw. (may have warranty issue if you open the case). Also, since there is no cd, you'll need an external cd drive to make a windows recovery cd.

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I bought this to replace my old Acer Aspire R1600 mini desktop. It still works great, but I wanted to upgrade to a Windows 8. Setting up the computer was fairly routine, the Windows 8 OS required a learning curve but was doable. The machine lost the monitor image briefly a couple of times, forcing me to start over again from the start window. This gave me concern, but for the most part it worked ok. Then it lost the monitor image completely. The monitor was saying it was not receiving a signal. Meanwhile the computer was on and making a sound like the HDD was going full speed. I used my other computer to access Acer online tech support and they wanted me to pay $38.00 to answer my question about the problem I was having. I decided to call Tech support instead and quickly got help. I was told to unhook everything from the computer, then rehook all my connections. After pressing on the start button, the computer started up and worked well for about a day. The last time I started the computer it froze up at Acer logo screen. I called Acer support. Tried a few things with no help. I was told to insert a recovery disc. My bad, I did not make one yet. It prompted me to use a flash card, I did not have one handy. They did not have a Windows 8 recovery disk in stock, I will have to call back in two days and then I can order one for $19.95 plus tax. I will update my report after I get my disk.

UPDATE: Acer support sent me the recovery dics. I hooked up the REVO to begin the installation. It booted up fine when I turned it on. The computer rebooted itself once while I was browsing on the internet. It had previously done this twice before when I had just received it and as before, it made a beeping sound just prior to rebooting itself. Still tentative about purchasing the computer but in all fairness, Acer support has been very helpful.

Read Best Reviews of Acer RL70-UR308 Desktop (Black) Here

This desktop is awesome, amazing design and good size for a desktop.

I bought this PC for media center purposes, connected to a hometheater and a 1080p TV.

Unfortunatly this specific model doesn't have enough cpu power to play encoded videos like 1080p mp4 or mkvs. Even 720p with DTS sound sometimes flickers or pauses for a second or two.

I upgraded the memory to 6Gb and it still coundn't play 1080p videos, even after I uninstalled the mcafee antivirus and norton firewalls...

I could not play 5.1 sound through the HDMI either, but as it has a optical output, that was not an issue.

UPDATE: tweaking the codecs I was able to enable hardware acceleration to the GPU and now I can watch 1080p movies at 30% CPU. One more star.

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I don't really like the windows 8 environment but over all it is a good and sleek looking machine. I have it on top of my entertainment center and connected to my TV and I use it to watch HULU and Netflix

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Overall very good design, I knew that 2Gb was not going to be enough, I did some research before I bought it and got to know that I can install up to 8Gb RAM even though it does not say it supports it. I have it up and running after instaslling the 8GB RAM. Very Nice, perfect for entertainment center.

Lexerd - Palm Pre Plus TrueVue Anti-glare PDA Screen Protector

• Ultra Thin
• Anti-glare
• Guarantee To Preserve Original Color Tones
• Heat, Water Resistance, Against Scratches and Shields Damage
• Not Interfere with Touch screen Technology

I love the anti-glare aspect but about 1/16" to 1/8" all around the perimeter of the protector did not adhere to the phone. I contacted Lexerd customer support and their response was that it would go down eventually. After a few days of working at it, I got about 50% of it go down but the rest never did. The cutouts for the speaker and microphone have edges which come to a point. Both of these never fully adhered and eventually started curling up until the protector was rendered useless as it started to peel away (in about 10-12 days).

This was actually my second attempt with this protector. I thought I may have done something wrong when I applied it so I ordered another one but I had the same problem. When the second one arrived, I could see the same 1/16" to 1/8" of the protector was also not sticking to the plastic backing on which Lexerd had applied it for shipping. It's some kind of design or manufacturing flaw. Whatever "adhesive" they use is either not present around the perimeter or is not as strong as it is on the rest of the protector.

Body Glove Snap-On Case for HTC Incredible in Retail Packaging

• Body Glove Snap-On Case (9140601) for HTC Incredible in Retail Packaging.
• Durable hard shell wrapped in a textured glove material. Ultimate custom fit for maximum protection.
• Removable knob for a low profile. Adjustable kickstand built into clip.
• Kickstand allows for multiple viewing angles.
• Includes a blue CCMaccessories Neck Strap / Lanyard.

I bought this case immediately after purchasing my incredible. Its a great price and looks good. I also love the grippiness of the case, but its still hard enough to protect from fall damage (caveat: see below).

The major flaw with the case is that the snap-on attachment is not that secure. I've dropped the phone a few times and once or twice the case has partially unattached. The phone hasn't been damaged from this but it has me worried enough that I'm buying a new case. I think this might be caused by my removing the case to clean off the phone sometimes (it seemed to get looser after I removed and attached it a few times) so if you plan to just install it and leave it, you might be okay.

Another flaw with the case is that the belt hook has the device facing outward. This isn't a big deal for me since I don't use the hook, but if you were planning on using it, I advise against this case.

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i have had the body glove snap on cases on the last three phones i have had. i very much like the soft textured protection that this case offers, without quite the bulk of the otterbox (or the price tag). this case protected my phone through several substantial falls and being tossed around in a gym/baseball equipment bag. after one drop from about 5 feet onto a concrete floor one of the little tabs that snaps the case on broke, but my phone remained undamaged (which is kind of the point on a case). i replaced that case with another one of these cases.

the only complaint i have about this case is that the front half of this case has pretty thick sides and it prevents you from being able to reach the very edges of the screen (like to drag an app from one screen to the next) but this would be the case with most cases that offer this much protection as phones try to use as much of the front with the screen as possible.

Read Best Reviews of Body Glove Snap-On Case for HTC Incredible in Retail Packaging Here

This case worked great for me for a few months. But after a while the case would pop off when I dropped it. My brother bought the exact same case and it broke after 2 weeks. If you don't abuse your phone, this case will suite you just fine.

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I love this case, but can no longer recommend it.

The tabs on this case are ridiculously fragile. I've now been through 4 of these cases and cannot justify purchasing another...

All of the cases of failed in the same way. The tabs that hold the cases together eventually break either from falls or taking the case off and on to get to your phone (eg, replacing the battery, getting to the SD card, etc.)

When the case DOES work, it gives the phone a sturdier feel. Plus, the detachable clip doubles as a phone stand.

... but those two things don't mean a thing if the case itself keeps coming apart.

I have had this cover for a week. If your anything like me.. you drop your phone a lot..This cover snaps on tight and protects the phone from everything. I would recommend this to anyone that drops their phone.

PlayStation Vita - WiFi

A few hours since delivery... I'm impressed. Just about everything about the PSV: display, controls, features, the games top of the line. This is a gaming machine that shouts "quality" and, after the first few hours of playing Uncharted and a couple of small games off the PSN, I can say that I've had the best portable gaming experience ever we currently have a PSP and a DSi in the house plus a couple of tablets and smart phones.

Briefly and I will update my review as I experience more of the PSV these are my findings so far.

HARDWARE AND FEATURES

I'm not going to get into details because Amazon's page has it all. Yes, it's quad-core this, and super-high-rez display that but what counts is that it translates into a super-smooth gaming experience with a bunch of non-gaming capabilities on top. I'm surprised how immersive playing a game on such a small screen with such tiny speakers can be. And it is so for a couple of reasons.

the sharpest, best looking display I've seen on a portable

the dual analog sticks make all the difference Sony learned from past mistakes

the back touch panel are something that it's better to experience because it's the one clear innovation on this machine and it won't give you headaches (sorry Nintendo :) )

games can be either downloaded or purchased and shared on physical media like I said, Sony is learning from past mistakes (sorry PSP Go)

seamless integration with the PS3 and the Playstation Network

a bunch of great multimedia apps including Netflix I'll have more to say about these after I stop playing Uncharted :)

cameras more later but I heard that some games allow you to build characters that look just like you

THE GAMING EXPERIENCE

Anyone who has a PS3 or a PSP should feel very familiar with the PSV. All the PS3 controls are there although some of the buttons are smaller. Add to that the 'touch' capabilities on both front and back with support for gestures and the gaming possibilities are almost endless. Because of its high resolution, there can be a lot happening at the same time on the PSV's screen and, don't forget, you can also feel the action while playing.

I don't feel like doing comparisons at this time but anyone who claims that the PSV is no big deal because we can play games on our phones should experience the PSV and then consider revising their statements. Vita can easily play any one-dollar game that a phone can play and I'm sure we'll get a couple of those and Vita can do just about everything a smart phone or tablet can do and most of the time do it better, but no phone or tablet can play Uncharted and no 'next generation' phone or tablet is likely to be able to play Uncharted or Little Big Planet. And, let's not forget that the Vita costs a less than most smart phones.

EVERYTHING ELSE

I haven't had time to explore all of Vita's features yet but, they're all in there. Multimedia, wireless connectivity, music playback... it's all in there. Add to that one of the best laid out, intuitive and responsive user interfaces and even non gamers should be happy to have a Vita around.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

A couple of things. The most annoying is, of course, the hyper-overpriced memory card. You can't play 'big games' without one and Sony decided to make lots of money on this proprietary 'must have' add-on which is anything but optional. Then there's of course Sony not making the Passport program available in the US. We have a PSP and lots of games on UMDs. Not being able to play them on the Vita is very frustrating.

Other than that... perhaps I should have titled my review 'gamer changer' because the Vita is likely to change me into a more active portable player. I used to prefer the PS3 over the PSP but I'm not sure this will always be the case in the future. I know that I won't put the Vita down until I'm done with Uncharted and once I complete that there are at least half a dozen games available on lunch date that I'd like to play.

Oh and... I don't really like sharing our Vita with the kids at this time but I have to :)

____________________________________________

NOTES OF CAUTION

Before deciding whether you want to buy a Vita and as you are budgeting for one, keep the following in mind:

* SINGLE-USER SYSTEM or so it is meant to be at this time. Like the PSP, the Vita will recognize only ONE account. Unlike the PS3, you can't have other members of your family or friends log with a sub-account. If you are planning to share the PSV, Sony suggests that individual users keep their game saves on separate memory cards but you will still be logged on the Vita as the one user who 'owns' it.

* TROPHIES A Sony representative confirmed to me that only the 'owner' will get credit for the trophies, no matter who may be earning them during gameplay because the PSV only recognized one user.

* DOWNLOADS If you buy a 'download' you will have to download that game on each of your family members memory cards who wish to play that game individually.

* MEMORY CARDS SIZE see above for the multiple users scenario. In addition, get the biggest memory card you can possibly afford. The size of downloaded games tends to be enormous. Uncharted alone is 3.2 GB which is just about all that a 4 GB card can hold. Most games I care about seem to be 2 GB or larger.

* DON'T PLAN ON BUYING MANY DOWNLOADABLE GAMES see above. Half a dozen downloaded games would fill up your 16 GB memory card with little room for anything else. I would buy games on physical media whenever possible.

--

>> Brush your teeth, it's the law!

The Good:

The Vita is a beautiful design, and it feels very solid in your hands. It's nice to finally have dual analog sticks, and the touch screen is very smooth and responsive. The rear touch pad has added an interesting new dimension to several games, such as Escape Plan and Mutant Blobs Attack.

The Vita's 5" screen is sharp and vibrant, vastly improved over the PSP. Look up 'mBVi3KbHPgY' on Youtube for a comparison of Hot Shots Golf on the Vita vs PSP. The Vita blows away the PSP!

The speakers are a definite improvement over my PSP, the sounds during Escape Plan were just amazing.

Speaker volume controls are under your right index finger, the perfect position!

Attaching the Vita to a PS3: I have a wireless keyboard receiver and USB mini-B cable coming off my PS3, so there are no open USB ports up front. I use the mini-B cable to charge my PS3 controller, and to attach my PSP. The PS Vita uses a new proprietary USB cable, so I found this adapter on Amazon that allows me to attach the Vita to the USB mini-B cable:

Your Cable Store USB Female A To USB Mini Female B 5 Pin Adapter

The Not-So-Good:

No video-out capability, which given the Vita's high resolution graphics is unfortunate.

The battery life has been decent for me so far, but a friend tells me that during an intense Uncharted gaming session, a full battery is empty in less than 3 hours.

>

Cross-Platform Play & Remote Play: Most games are not compatible. Sony should change their webpage to say "Planned for Summer or Fall 2012 release", because right now this just doesn't work for most games.

Video file playback: The PS Vita is limited to specific MP4 and H.264 file types. Forget about avi, wmv, mkv, DVD files, etc. without doing a lengthy file conversion first. Android phone and tablet owners can download the free 'MX Player' application that will play back just about any video format, but Sony Vita owners don't have that option. I can copy a TV show from my home theater PC and watch it on my 5-inch Android tablet, but on the Vita the file will not play.

The Web Browser -This is just not up to par for a handheld released in 2012. I expect to rotate the Vita in my hand and have the browser change from portrait to landscape mode, but this DOES NOT WORK. I went to Youtube to check the latest FPS Russia video, and look for a video review of Hot Shots Golf, but this DOES NOT WORK. The Vita does not support Youtube, PERIOD. Then I went to Amazon's home page to check the daily Lightning Deals, and this DOES NOT WORK. Lastly, I was on movietickets(dot)com to buy some tickets to the show, and the Vita's browser DOES NOT WORK. Maybe there will be a browser update, or maybe we can buy the Dolphin HD or Opera browser in the Playstation Store in the near future, but as of right now, the Vita browser is limited.

>

The first decision to make is how to buy the games, either Digital Download from the Playstation Store or order the physical game cartridge from Amazon.

We should support Amazon and buy the game cartridges here, for several reasons:

+game carts can be traded with friends, traded-in for store credit, or re-sold for cash. Digital downloads from the Sony PlayStation Store are locked to your online account and have zero resale or trade-in value.

+when I insert the Uncharted game cart into my Vita, in just a few seconds I have transferred 3.2 gigabytes of gaming goodness into my Vita. In comparison, the digital download might take several hours, then it has to be transferred from the PC or PS3 to the Vita using the slow USB cable. Then 3.2 gigabytes of memory card space is needed to hold the Uncharted game, memory space which is worth about 10 d0llars.

+physical game cards will naturally go down in price over time, due to normal supply & demand. For example, Pilotwings and Nintendogs were both launch titles for the 3DS, and they are now selling for HALF the price of launch day. Digital downloads may never see those kind of normal, market price adjustments. For examples of this, just look at PSP game prices on the Playstation Store, then compare to the better Amazon pricing.

Of course there are some games exclusively on the Playstation Store, but they are usually priced lower and with smaller file sizes. For example, Mutant Blobs Attack and Escape Plan are two excellent games that don't take long to download and are a great value.

>

I started out with Hotshots Golf, Lumines, and Rayman Origins.

I've played Hotshots Golf ever since the PS1 days, but this new Vita edition is still a blast to play, and looks great. Lumines is fun too, I was a big fan of Lumines 1 & 2 on the PSP.

Rayman Origins looks amazing and is fun, but I think it's the exact same game that is already on the PS3 and XBox360.

In the PS Store, I bought Escape Plan and Mutant Blobs attack, both highly recommended! My next purchase will be Super Stardust Delta, another great title.

Next I tried some PSP games on the Vita: Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Dreams are Mini's that work great on the Vita, they look better here than on the PSP. Also, Capcom Classics Collection works fine on the Vita.

>

The Playstation Store is part of the PS Vita experience. Even if we buy all our games here on Amazon, there are still a few online exclusives that must be purchased and downloaded from Sony.

I was browsing the store on my PS3, and found 27 Vita games were available for purchase. 18 of these games included a Preview, showing either screen shots or video clips. The other 9 showed nothing, expecting us to buy these games sight unseen, or go do our own research.

I can't believe that Sony still doesn't get it. EVERY game in the store should have a Preview. Sony should require it of the publishers. That's the way Microsoft runs their online store. Microsoft wants to be up-front and honest and lay the cards on the table, so there's no buyers remorse. Almost every game in the Microsoft store also has a free trial download. Sony could take a lesson from them.

Ok so then I went to the Playstation Store from my Vita, and was surprised to see that NONE of the games for sale had Preview screen shots or videos. Unbelievable!

>

The PS Vita is a beauty to behold, a BIG step-up from the PSP, with some truly good launch games.

Now Sony needs to bring their A-game and fix some of Vita's shortcomings. Make the PS Store more user friendly, get Remote Play and Cross Platform Play working, as advertised, and fix the browser. How can ANY handheld not support Youtube in 2012? Lastly, how about a better app for video playback?

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UPDATE May-30-2012

There is now a javascript webpage available that allows Sony Vita owners to watch Youtube videos! The downside is that you have to download the entire video to your memory card before you can watch it, there is no video streaming or previewing available. Just lookup 'vita youtube' on Youtube.

The Vita has been out for 6 months now, why can't Sony give us a proper Youtube application? Samsung and Apple (and others) support Youtube just fine, they get the job done for their customers.

I have had this for 17 days, and so far I love it! I was worried whether it would be worth it, mainly because of the pricing, memory cards, and amount of games. I have a ps3 and buying games for two systems doesn't seem likely for a college student! Priced at only 20 bucks less than a ps3 game and depending on the title, it could set you back a lot. Even with all this, these are my reasons for why you should get it (and why not):

Pros:

Feels nice in your hands, perfect size, not too heavy, but not light in a way where it feels cheap

Amazing OLED screen, that is much bigger than the PSP's, Touch screen is great, and is being used nicely in some games

Back touch screen is also pretty interesting, and I can see where games can make real use of it (they did in Uncharted)

Dual analog sticks

Sensors are perfect

Buttons feel nice

The quad core processor is wicked fast and smooth

Sound is pretty good

Games play great, amazing upcoming line up

Ok to talk a little about my experiences with the ps vita, I absolutely love it. It just feels nice, and the OLED touch screen feels right at home with my normal touch screen electronics. Kind of funny that it comes with a tutorial. Loving the analog sticks, work great and are very responsive. To touch on that quad core processor, its so fast! I can literally press the home button in the middle of an intense action filled game (uncharted) which is probably memory intensive, do something on the home screen, go right back, and the game feels like it never left. There was no lag, unlike when this is done on the ps3, though to be fair, you can surf the net while on a game on the ps3, and not on the ps vita. Just feels nice to be able to play games on the go which so much power, especially when I never have time to just play for hours. Not much else to say except I cannot wait to see what the game developers can do when they make more games for the ps vita.

Cons:

Battery life is a worry, 3 hours it had like 25% life left

Directional button is too close to the left analog stick

You cannot play ps one classics!

The psp games you can download, scale horribly on the ps vita, probably due to the difference in screen resolution.

As cool as the back touchpad is, it gets in the way of games that use it sometimes like uncharted.

Memory cards are expensive

So let me start with the battery life. It is pretty bad, which saddens me. Such great hardware, it is a shame the battery couldn't be 6 hours of hardcore gameplay. Sony could have added a bigger battery, I assume of course. After about 2 hours you better have that charger handy to not get too low. For on the go casual gaming, its probably enough, but for the players that are on it for hours playing an intense (graphically) game, its not enough. The charger isn't compact, so its just annoying. I plan on getting around that by buying an external charger to charge on the go. Its very inconvenient and costly to have to dish out more money to have a great gaming experience for longer that 4 hours, especially if you aren't near a charger for a 6 hour or longer trip. But again, if you are a casual gamer, its perfect, playing for 30 minutes to an hour at a time, a few times a day, not bad. I will assume when connected to wifi for online gameplay, my experience with the battery will be much worse. One thing that I am very disappointed in is the lack of prone classic playable games! With such small, almost nonexistent library of rpg/fps games, being able to bring classics to such an amazing machine is a must. Yet this is missing, and knowing this, I can honestly say, don't rush buying this until there is better support, since you'll find the number of games are lacking (though there are a decent amount as compared to the 3DS). The last thing I want to point out is the memory card. I won't reiterate what everyone else is saying. They are ridiculously expensive. I get that it is suppose to keep the hacking to a minimum... but for god sakes, 50 dollars for a 16GB memory card?? Sony is literally sucking it for all its worth. Its a shame seeing as its an amazing products. The little things count.

Buy PlayStation Vita - WiFi Now

After playing around with my PS Vita for a couple days, I've been able to test out most of the features and game demos to give it the best possible review. Overall, I'm pretty impressed with my Vita. It's definitely worth the money I spent. I think it has potential to be a very successful system. I'm excited to see what developers create for it. A PS Vita version of Monster Hunter would make it sell out the roof, especially in Japan. Here's some features and components I thought stood out to me when I played it, good/bad.

PROS:

-The Design: One can quickly identify the Vita as a jumbo-sized PSP 1000, except the Vita is quite different. It is extremely light for it's size, and very sleek.

-The Screen: The first thing that stands out to anybody who picks up the device. The 5" OLED display is beautiful to the say the least. Along with the vivid display, is the touch component. The screen is extremely responsive, as responsive or better than my own iPhone's. No lag, whatsoever. A truly beautiful thing, especially for a gaming device where a majority of the controls rely on the screen's sensitivity.

-The Controls(Buttons, Sticks): One thing that Sony hyped up that supposed to revolutionize handheld gaming was the addition quasi analog sticks. The initial feeling is a very grippy one, which is good for a gamer. Although very small in comparison to its Dualshock brother, the two control sticks do a great job when handling games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss. The buttons are smaller compared to its predecessors' but once in gameplay their size does not pose an issue.

-The OS/UI: After reading some earlier reviews before release, I found that many people disliked the UI that Sony had implemented with the PS Vita. I on the other hand, disagree. It is very user-friendly, as I had no problems using it. They made closing apps really easy by just a drag of the finger. Although it's not as simple looking as it's ancestor's XMB, it is still really easy to use and find things.

-Party App: FINALLY. Something every Sony gamer has been calling for since the minute they played their systems online. The ability to do cross-game chat is huge for the Vita. It has the ability to chat with up to 8 people. The voice quality is very good, almost phone call quality. Very impressed with this feature.

-Near: Near is an app that shows near by Vita players in your current location. It shows displays your PSN ID to others on a radar and shows the closest players and what games they're playing. I was surprised to see about 20 Vita players in a 2 mile radius around ASU campus. A good addition to the Vita.

CONS:

-Remote Play: I was very eager to try out Remote Play, to see if Sony had made any improvements on it since the PSP days. I was disappointed to find that it was EXACTLY the same as it was on my PSP. I tried to play many of my PSN games but to no avail, the same message over again, "This feature is not available." I thought maybe with the increased computing power of the Vita, it would have the ability to do more with this feature. I was wrong. Hopefully Sony addresses this issue in an a feature update.

-The Ability to play PS1 Games(Or Lack there of): It seems like a regression of sorts to not include a feature the PSP had. With the PS Store's large collection(and continually growing one), why not include the functionality to play PS1 games. I know Sony says they're working on the issue, but I really would have liked to see them have it on day 1. It would give owners something to play if they didn't buy any games at launch.

-Camera: You'd think with Sony making the Vita, they would include a high quality camera. Nope. It's average at best. It's very grainy and doesn't focus well. But it's not such a big deal, you buy a playstation to game right?

Read Best Reviews of PlayStation Vita - WiFi Here

The PSVITA in a nutshell

The Vita overall is an exceptional piece of gaming hardware.

PROS:

-OLED is clear, vivid, and best of all pretty resistant to finger prints.

-PSN is responsive and easy to use.

-Dual analog stick 100% functional (unlike the nub).

-Rear touch pad is innovative and very responsive.

-Front touch works as well as any apple device I've ever owned.

CONS:

-Battery life (5-6 hours with brightness down).

-No PS1 classic support as of 02-23-2012(there are plans to add support down the road per SONY).

I believe that the Vita is where Sony finally got it right, this is the first handheld from them that I love almost as much as I did my GBA.

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When the original PSP was released, I immediately put it on my Christmas list and eagerly waited its arrival. The display was quite impressive and the hardware was unmatched by any handheld at the time, but the game library was lacking. Early on, the only game I felt was worthwhile was Wipeout: Pure, but I did not really feel inclined to purchase beyond (BEYOND!) that. A few years down the road, I bought a few more choice titles for it but I still could not shake the feeling that the PSP was some what abandoned. Titles such as GoW, Daxter, Lumines, and Persona were impressive, but outside that, the PSP library did not impress me (I'm sure many of you will disagree and I am more than willing to hear your opinions!). All in all, I felt burned by the original PSP.

Then we hear of the NGP, which would later be known as the PS Vita. It had a beautiful screen, dual analog sticks, and a processor that could wipe the floor with any iDevice at the time. My hopes for redemption were elevated, but I remained wry. Would Sony flirt with my hopes for a truly great handheld once again? Only to leave me burned at the end? I wanted my GB SP to finally be topped, but I kept my hopes in check.

Having bought a PS Vita this past Monday, I cannot say how this device will hold up in the long run, but I can say without a doubt that this is one heck of a machine. The OLED display is stunning. Letting colors and animations pop off the screen with grace. And the opening library is stronger than any one could have predicted (before last year's E3 that is), with titles such as Rayman: Origins, Super Stardust Delta, Lumines and Uncharted.

What they have done with the PS Vita's main menu is quite interesting. Instead of going with the XMB, Sony has elected to use an iOS style bubble system, clearly laying the Vita's tools before you. To open an application, one must simply touch a bubble (the menu uses touch only navigation), and a "page" is opened for it. I found this addition slightly unnecessary, but it makes multitasking on the device quite easy. You can have a page open for a game, your friends list, Near, and trophies all at the same. Making it easy to simply switch from a game to your friends list and back again, picking up exactly where you left off.

Like most systems made by Sony, the PS Vita is made with the hardcore gamer in mind. Its trophy support, dual analog sticks, and game library prove this very fact. Sony knows that the less gaming gamer will be very content with the games found in the app store, which give much more of a pick up and play casual experience. The Vita, on the other hand, is designed for the trophy hunters amongst us, who play games for the long haul and expect a strong (albeit free) internet suite. Apps such as near are designed with this concept in mind. You can find players in your neighborhood who play the same games as you. And even see which games their recommend to their comrades.

One of the downfalls for the Vita, however, is Sony itself. The proprietary memory card system is atrocious. A 32 GB memory card for 100 dollars is simply appalling considering the standards for memory pricing today. Having spoken to many about this, I know that the memory card schtick is alienating many, keeping the Vita from being the crazy success it deserves to be. Considering how rampant piracy was on the PSP, it makes sense for Sony to go the proprietary route, but it was by no means necessary for them to make them cost this much.

The next feature of the Vita I will discuss is its backwards compatibility. Keep in mind, Sony has ditched the UMD formate, which is a massive relief. That system just added moving parts, making more opportunities for unit failure and shorter battery life (which is a whopping 5 hours now). The way backwards compatibility is handled through what is available on the PSN Store. Now, Sony released a list of PSP games (about 200 or so) that can be directly downloaded to your Vita, but this is not an absolute list. There are ways to get more games onto your PSP, using your PS3 as an intermediate. If you want to know more details, look up the video on ign.com or on youtube (search "how to get PSP games on my VITA IGN, and it should bring you right to it!). I cannot attest to how well this works, as I haven't tested it yet, but feel free to comment about it below!

Next, the battery life. The batteries on your Vita should last anywhere between 3 to 5 hours. This number may seem minuscule, but when you consider the hardware it is running, it is quite impressive. Personally, I would have preferred they ditched the touch panels and added in maybe 2 hours of life to the Vita, but what are you gonna do? Rumor has it that Sony will release an extended battery pack to add a few extra hours, but I have not heard anything as of yet about that. (Sound off below if you have heard otherwise!)

The Playstation Vita is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Its revolutionary power, dual sticks, and game library certainly make it a contender for one of the best hardcore portable platforms out there. Its price, as well as the memory card situation hold it back from true greatness, making me take away 1 star from my overall review. If I could, I would have given it 3 and a half stars, but alas, technology has not gone that far (catch up Amazon ;)). If you are looking for a powerful up and coming machine that you can carry with you, than look no further than the PS Vita. That is if you do not mind making a large investment. I hope this system continues to receive the support from Sony it has today, and solidifies the dominance it so rightly deserves.

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Optoma EP-PK-100 PICO Pocket Projector (Black)

• Ultra-light at 4 ounces including battery
• Projects image size up to 60 inches; Utilizes DLP Pico technologyResolution 480 x 320
• LED light source lasts over 20,000 hours
• Recharge battery via USB or included AC charger
• With optional iPod/iPhone Upgrade Kit play directly from your Apple device (Part No. BC-BBIDMJA)

I was surprised by how well this device works, especially because it is so small. The size and weight of a cell phone, the PICO is a very compact and bright DLP projector. It is powered by a flat cell phone battery, or by an external AC adapter through the mini-USB port. The prongs on the adapter are interchangeable, an increasingly common feature, for those who travel abroad (US prong included, additional prongs sold separately). Video and audio input is through a single port on the side, using an composite cable with an audio-jack shaped plug on one end. Portability is where the PICO excels, but it comes with a sacrifice. It is perfect for people who need to take their show on the road, provided that you're only outputting from a portable media player, digital camera, or device with composite outs. It won't replace full-size projectors because of the 480 x 320 resolution and lack of VGA port. You'll still need a regular projector for laptop output and business presentations.

But for personal use, the Optoma opens up the possibility of family movie nights! You can enjoy big screen fun at about 1/3 of the price of traditional DLP projectors, and you don't have to worry about storage. It also comes with a protective soft zippered pouch (but it's too snug to fit the unit in easily).

The PICO is very easy to use and there's only 1 control: a focus dial. It's a bit finicky, but it works. There's no setup screen or any other hassle. It turns on instantly and displays the video the moment you plug in the cables. I tested it out on my Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player and ASUS O!Play playing back some movies through the composite outs. Video quality looked pretty good, given the size of the device. Not great, but very acceptable. I sat the PICO on my desk about 15 feet away from the wall. The resulting video was about 10 feet across by 8 feet tall, covering almost my entire wall, and easily viewable. This distance was no problem with loss of brightness or visibility. The closer the screen is, of course, the brighter the image is (but smaller). It was actually quite cool projecting this onto my wall and I felt a sense of giddiness at seeing how big the video was. It was like having my own little private theater. I didn't like the lack of volume controls on the unit though, but this is a minor inconvenience as you can adjust the audio through the source device. The unit only has one speaker but no audio passthru port, another weak point, but it's loud enough in a small room of people. If you're competing with outside noise, it will probably be inadequate.

This product would've scored higher had it not been for the battery. The projector itself is warranted for 1 year. The battery for only 3 months! When I first got the projector, I charged the battery up fully, then forgot about it for a few weeks. Expectedly, it lost its charge during that time, so I left it plugged in overnight. The next day, I unplugged it and discovered that unit would not turn on. The battery inexplicably died. The red LED on side normally lights up when charging. I had to run the unit plugged into the wall at all times because of the faulty battery. This may be an isolated incident, but Optoma's 3 month warranty on the battery isn't very reassuring. This is definitely fishy and something to consider.

To summarize: if you're looking to connect a laptop to this, look elsewhere because it has no VGA port, and the low resolution means you won't see much even if you use a VGA to Composite or SVideo Converter because laptops are typically 1024x768 or higher. For geeks and video enthusiasts, the possibility for home theater fun may be an attractive selling point.

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The Pico PK100 is a very small battery powered portable projector that produces a surprisingly good image in a darkened room. This model only supports composite video input. I was given this projector as a gift so I would likely have chosen the Optoma PK102 Pico Pocket Projector for the additional PC VGA support if picking one out for myself (I bought Sabrent PC Laptop Mac Computer to TV Presentation Converter, VGA to Video, PC to TV Converter Box, VGA-Video Converter TV-PC85 to provide the composite video, works great). That being said, the PK100 is still a remarkable device that is both fun and useful.

The box contains the Projector, rechargeable battery, USB cable (for charging only), charger, tripod adapter, and composite video\audio cable (Yellow, Red\white). We tried several video sources, including a digital camera, portable DVD player, and an iPod Nano (with the video output cable). These all worked well and produced perfectly acceptable image quality.

The unit has two brightness levels, but I always use the brightest one as it makes the truest colors. The darker the room the better, but the image is very visible at 6' in normal home ambient lighting. At 6' the image projected is roughly 2'x3' at 12' the size is 4'x6' but too washed out in anything but near total darkness.

Having a projector that works so well and that can be slipped into a pocket is very cool.

Highly Recommended!

CFH

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I bought this unit because i wanted to be able to project images from my iPod Touch and iPod Nano 3G and didn't want to have to worry about breaking expensive bulbs. I already had one of those $49 cables to go from the iPod to composite video (the yellow cable).

I am amazed at how small this unit is--smaller than a flip camera. It doesn't do well in a room that isn't dark, but since I plan to use this for DJ gigs this isn't a drawback for me.

The image is good quality, up to 6 feet in size. Keep in mind it has just the composite input--you won't be able to go from a laptop to this device without some sort of converter box. Also, if you have 3.x or above firmware on your iPhone or iPod Touch you will have to buy the proprietary Apple cable.

I showed this off to the IT guys at work and I just overheard them raving about it! And they are a tough audience!

CONS: you have to screw in a tiny adapter (provided) to put the unit on a tripod, and I know I will lose the thing eventually. I wish the mounting had been better thought out. Also it is powered via usb so you will need to either charge the battery beforehand or have a laptop to plug into, it does come with a USB to AC adaptor for charging.

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I sent this back. It would not work for my situation at all. I am a classroom teacher, and I attempted to use this for class. It was so dim, no one could make out the images. I could not get the room dark enough so that it would work, even with shades drawn.

sounds great but wasn't able to make it work even after purchasing modifying cable -sent back did get refund though = thanks amazon!!!

Magentatoner Cartridge Sp C220A

• Catalog Publishing Type - Inks & Toners-OEM
• Color(s) - Magenta
• Coverage Percent - 5.00 %
• Device Types - Laser Printer
• Global Product Type - Inks & Toners-Toner Cartridge

I've searched the internet and there is no better place to find these cartridges. Service was very prompt even in a busy christmas rush. I still got these in a very timely fashion.

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Lexar micro SDHC 8 GB Flash Memory Card LSDMI8GBASBNA

• Store up to 2,000 songs; 24,000 photos; or 2,400 minutes of video
• Works with SDHC-enabled mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, PDAs, and more
• Five-year limited warranty

Reading reviews of other microSDHC cards, I was worried I wouldn't get what I expected. This one came in original sealed Lexar packaging. It is exactly as pictured.

Transferring a movie from the computer to 16GB microSDHC class 4 card achieved 12.1MB/s. Transferring a bunch of Android files achieved 5MB/s. I'll take it!

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There's not a lot more to say. I transferred the stuff from my 8GB microSD to this and it worked in my HTC Incredible without problems. I haven't benchmarked it and doubt I will. It doesn't appear to be incredible fast or slow... it is a commodity microSD card. The price was good, however.

Read Best Reviews of Lexar micro SDHC 8 GB Flash Memory Card LSDMI8GBASBNA Here

I was initially very happy with this SD card, it did exactly what it was supposed to do..

However after less than 6 months of use, the card has failed. I've tested it in multiple devices, to rule out a faulty device.

I'm disappointed that it failed after such a short time, and since I failed to keep the original blister pack, there's no opportunity for refund/exchange.

The other reviews seem good, so maybe I just got a bad card.

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well so far so good this card hasn't given me any problems and I love how low the price was only reason i haven't given this 5 stars is because I'm playing the waiting game making sure the card doesn't go bad on me but i don't think it will im pretty happy with this purchase

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I bought it for Galaxy S3. Worked great at first, all the transfers were quick. Until 4 days went by. The card stopped working after FOUR days. It might have been an isolated incident but just be warned.

Star Micronics TSP650 TSP654 POS Thermal Receipt Printer (39448510)

• Monochrome
• Direct Thermal
• 150 mm/s Mono
• 203 dpi
• Serial

We recieved the printers in a very timely fashion and would love to tell you that they work great but we are unable to connect them as there are no cables included. The description did not make note that the power & data cable had to be purchased seperately. I don't like surprises.

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no power cord or info about what or where to buy the cords needed. Not a good idea to use this company in the future.

eForCity Black Embossed Leather Case w/ Stand Compatible With Apple® iPad® 2 2nd Generation 16GB /

• Stop worrying about scratching your Apple® iPad® 2 by getting this excellent carrying accessory today
• Leather case features smooth synthetic leather and heavy duty stitching to ensure the long life of your Apple® iPad® 2
• Features with auto-securing magnetic flap for the best combination of security and ease of use
• Leather case cover can be turned into a horizontal stand for the convenience of viewing slide shows or videos
• Unique design allows easy access to all buttons, controls and ports without having to remove the case. Apple® iPod®, iPhone®, or iPad® are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc. Products are Apple® compatible and not endorsed by Apple, Inc.

It works on my IPAD 2. One pro is my IPad2 is not tight enough in this case so it will fall down some space when you use it in horizon.In general, for this price, it is worth to buy, i recommend it to my friends.

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Just put a little apple sticker on the front of the case and it will be beautiful on your ipad 2.

Logitech Wireless Presenter R400

• Intuitive touch-keys for easy slideshow control
• Bright red laser pointer - easy to see against most backgrounds
• Up to 50-foot wireless range for freedom to move around the room
• 2.4 GHz wireless USB receiver for plug-and-play simplicity with any computer
• Built-in docking bay stores receiver for easy pack up and portability

Anyone looking for a solid, easy to use wireless presenter will be more than pleased with the R400.

From an ergonomics perspective I think it is, as Goldilocks would say. "just right". Some of the smaller presenters often require a lot of fidgeting. At the same time, you do not want to be holding a brick in your hand when standing in front of an audience. This unit is large enough to be easy to use, small enough to be discrete. The rubberized surface helps ensure it will not go flying due to an over-zealous hand gesture.

Set up is very easy, plug the dongle into a laptop and you are ready to go. I have used this on a variety of laptops and it has always worked flawlessly.

If you are a facilitator or do a lot of presentations, you should consider the upgrade to the R800. Once you adopt the practice of using a vibrating timer, you will never want to be without this feature. Likewise, the more powerful laser on the R800 makes a big difference in large or bright rooms. The R400 is a good choice for 75% of presenters, but at least look at the 800 before making your final choice. You can not go wrong with either.

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First off, you don't really get a feel for the size of thing from the picture or even the video. As noted in the product dimensions, it's 4.5" by 1.5", so draw that to see what it's like. It's small and very comfortable to hold, with a rubbery surface that makes it very unlikely you'll drop it even with a light grip.

I especially like that the USB dongle stores inside the unit, so the two pieces are much less likely to get separated. It comes with a nice protective zipper case, though I don't use it. I just throw the thing in my laptop bag without the case.

I use this on a Mac and it works, mostly. With a little customizing, it works completely.

The first time I plugged it in, a "Keyboard Assistant" ran since the Mac didn't recognize the "keyboard". I simply quit the assistant, and there was no problem. The forward, back, and black screen buttons work fine on both Powerpoint and Keynote. However out of the box, the "play" button works on neither. With some fiddling, I was able to get the play button to work on both.

To configure Powerpoint for the play button, go to the Keyboard system preference and pick Keyboard Shortcuts. Then hit the + key to add a shortcut. Pick Microsoft Powerpoint for the application (you may need to hit Other... to find it, since it's in a subdirectory in Applications). For Menu Title type in, exactly, "Slide Show" (without the quotes). Then in the Keyboard Shortcut, simply press the play button on the remote. That sets the shortcut to F5, which is what the remote sends with you press play. Now the play button works for Powerpoint. You can do the same for Keynote, with the menu title "Play Slideshow".

Then all the buttons on the remote work on the Mac.

The red laser is not very bright, but passable. I would have preferred a brighter green laser. The wireless range is more than good enough for any room I've been in.

Notably missing is any ability to move the mouse arrow or click. Moving forward and back is not really enough if you have movies or links in your presentation. In that case, you'll want a more capable remote.

The bottom line is that the R400 provides the minimum functionality, even on a Mac, with a really nicely designed form with a great feel. However the functions are only minimal, one of the functions doesn't work on a Mac out of the box, and in the end, it is a little overpriced. There are better choices, e.g. the Keyspan Presentation Remote Pro. Though I wish the better choices felt as good to hold as this one.

Read Best Reviews of Logitech Wireless Presenter R400 Here

I obtained both the R400 and R800 Professional units and thought it would be worth comparing them. I use wireless remotes with Powerpoint often, and have two different Kensington models as comparisons.

Both the R400 and R800 use standard AAA batteries. This is important when traveling. One of my Kensington models uses watch batteries, which are hard to find on the road. With the Logitech models, this is especially important because the remotes have an "on-off" switch. It seems likely--at least for me--that I will forget to turn the switch off at some point or, when traveling, the switch could slide to on, draining the power. When replacing batteries in an emergency, having standard-sized batteries is something you'll be thankful for.

The units have little pouches for travel, and the pouches would prevent the accidental switch to on, but the pouches are bulky. I doubt I will use the pouches. The R400 is smaller than the R800, so if you travel a lot, the R400 may be best. Both units have a hot button to allow the presentation screen to go dark, which is a great way to draw attention from the slide to the presenter. Another button brings up the presentation again.

Both units set up in a snap--at least in Windows XP. I just inserted the USB bar and after about 30 seconds, I was able to advance an open Powerpoint presentation. I haven't tested this on Vista or on Mac yet.

The R800 has more range, which is useful if your laptop is in the back of the room. The R800 has a timer, which is great in today's watch-less world. Set the timer for the length of the presentation and it will actually vibrate with reminders. The green laser, as opposed to the red for the R400, seems to have about the same range and it's debatable whether or not green is easier to see than red. But, the green laser projects a little bigger on the screen and that definitely is better.

For the money, either units are good, but they are priced a little higher than the Kensington. They're easy to use (whenever I had my Kensington to someone to use they need a primer on its use and I don't see that being the case with these). If you're already making the financial leap, it's probably worth the major leap to the R800. If you travel and space is the prime concern, go with the R400.

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Right off the clip, the R400 has a few nice touches:

Ships with two Duracell batteries.

USB transmitter inserts into the presenter itself; doesn't need to be carried separately.

Includes a nice neoprene-like case.

No software! (this is a GOOD thing, the less clutter on my PC, the better)

Even though OS X isn't listed as compatible with this presenter, it works! Don't let the "Unknown keyboard" dialog on USB insert scare you; it works just fine.

Laser pointer works.

Next and previous buttons work.

"Black screen" button works.

"Launch slide show" button... I'm not sure what this does because all I can get it to do is to cancel the slideshow and show PowerPoint.

After using this, I'm not sure how I lived without it. Bringing to all of my presentations!

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Normally, logitech devices are easy to use and handy. This one is also easy to use, small and portable. But one thing it doesn't have that disappointed me was the click button. One cannot play a video or music from a distance with this one. Since I'm a musician my presentations are highly relied upon this feature. So, if you think you don't need a click and just need to show your slides, this is a perfect fit for you, but otherwise, I don't recommend it.

rooCASE Ultra Mini Capacitive (Red) Stylus for Palm Pixe / Pixe Plus / Pre / Pre Plus

• Non-OEM Stylus for Palm Pixe / Pixe Plus / Pre / Pre Plus
• Ultra Responsive Capacitive Stylus that Works with All Touch Screen
• Lightweight Aluminum Pen Body that Weighs in at 0.2 OZ. Stylus Length: 48mm.
• Conevenient Cap Attachment to 3.5mm Audio Jack.
• Available in Black, Silver and Red. Search: rooCASE Ultra Mini Capacitive Stylus Pixe

It works! I've bought several that didn't even though I was told they should. This one is small and convenient, and it plugs into the headphone jack securely.

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Blue Rubberized Snap on Hard Protective Cover Case for LG Optimus S LS670 + Microfiber Pouch Bag

I bought this because I thought it was actually RUBBERIZED, but it's not at all. It's cheap, spray painted plastic. I put it on my phone and tried to remove it ONCE and I broke it. You literally get what you pay for with this. It's not worth more than two cents.

This cover is ok. The goodit is durable and snaps on nice and tight. The not so goodI had the seller send me another one. neither of them the seem matches up on. the bottom piece sticks out further than the top piece.

Ultimately it stays on the phone and is durable and would protect your phone from a fall!

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Sony ICD-SX712 Digital Flash Voice Recorder

• Built-in 2 GB flash memory
• 2-Position Stereo Microphone
• Records in LPCM 44.1kHz 16 bit and MP3 (320 kbps-8 kbps)
• S-Microphone System, Over 500 Hours of Maximum Recording Time
• DRAGON COMPATIBLE- work with the Voice to Print Dragon NaturallySpeaking® software.

இ Fuzzy Wuzzy's Summary:

ѾѾѾѾѾ Very highly recommended with warm fuzzies!

I work in high tech and I am also a musician who plays guitars, harmonica, and world-beat/ethnic percussion. So I find portable digital recorders like this to be highly useful on a weekly basis for recording everything from personal dictation of thoughts and ideas, to in-person meetings, to telephone conferences, to jam sessions with my other musician friends, to recording impromptu music ideas and vocals.

Prior to purchasing this Sony ICD-SX712, I frequently used a Sony ICD-SX750 2 GB Flash Memory Digital Voice Recorder (Black). And before that, one of my main portable digital recorders was a Sony MZ-NF810CK Net MD MiniDisc Recorder with Car Kit with a Sony ECM-DS70P Electret Condenser Stereo Microphone for recording music ideas, jam sessions, and rehearsals. Sony's MZ-NF810CK Net MD MiniDisc recorder offered CD-quality digital recording with a full 20Hz-20,000Hz +/-3dB frequency range, along with an AM/FM/TV/Weather tuner. But for years, my one big complaint with Sony's Net MD MiniDisc recorder was that the device had no 'Line Out' or easy method to transfer my digital recordings off of its MiniDisc so that I could perform further editing on the computer.

Even though the "712" number in this ICD-SX712 model is numerically smaller than Sony's previous model of ICD-SX750, I see this model as a substantially improved direct replacement for their previous ICD-SX750 model, which was also priced very similarly. Since I have both the ICD-SX750 and ICD-SX712 recorders, some of this product review will compare the two models.

With the advent of affordable digital recorders that use onboard flash memory and/or Memory Stick Micro (M2) and microSD memory cards, I find myself using my Net MD recorder less and less now. Note that the Sony line of "ICD" recorders are NOT really professional digital audio recorders for recording full-spectrum music, but this ICD-SX712 can still produce a very good CD-quality stereo recording for most kinds of music. Using its best LPCM 44.1 kHz 16-bit recording mode, the ICD-SX712 records a frequency range of 40Hz-20kHz. Depending upon the music that you are wanting to record, this may or may not be sufficient since a dedicated digital audio recorder will go down to 20 Hz. If you really want a digital audio recorder for music applications, I would highly recommend either the Sony PCM-M10/R Portable Linear PCM Recorder, 96-kHz/24-bit, 4GB Memory & USB High-Speed Port, Glossy Red, the Zoom H4n Handy Portable Digital Recorder, both of which will record a pristine 20Hz to 20,000+ Hz frequency range at 96-kHz/24-bit recording mode, or one of the Tascam portable digital recorders. Sony's "ICD" recorder line is more optimized for recording voice (dictation, interviews, meetings), but this ICD-SX712 also does a very good job of recording music. There is not much musical content that goes below the 40Hz sub-bass low end that this ICD-SX712 can record: the low fundamentals of a bass tuba, and the fundamentals of a contrabassoon, harp, double bass, pipe organ, piano.

What is in the box package?

✵ ICD-SX712 Voice Recorder

✵ Two AAA alkaline batteries

✵ "Ear bud" stereo headphones

✵ Mini-USB-to-USB cable to connect the recorder to your computer

✵ Sound Organizer software CD (for Windows 7/Vista/XP only, no Mac support)

✵ Soft carrying pouch sleeve

✵ Stand, with tripod mount, for positioning the recorder's microphone

✵ Highly detailed 155-page all-English 'Operating Instructions' guide

The voice recorder itself has size dimensions of 1 1/4 inches wide by 5 3/8 inches long with a thickness of 5/8 inches, and it weighs 2.3 ounces without batteries and 3.1 ounces with batteries. So it is a quarter-inch longer than my ICD-SX750 and a half-ounce heavier.

More of the ICD-SX712's features are described and rated below:

ѾѾѾѾѾ Excellent 5-fuzzies feature ratings:

ѾѾѾѾѾ The recorded sound quality is excellent with crystal-clear sound clarity, both in its directional and stereo microphone positions. Stereo recordings have excellent three-dimensional spatial imaging. And when the recording level is set to "High" microphone sensitivity, the recorded speech of a distant speaker in a large auditorium is excellent. Sony claims that this recorder can pick up sounds from 25 meters (82 feet) away when using its highest-quality LPCM recording format, and I do not doubt that claim.

ѾѾѾѾѾ Compared to my older ICD-SX750, the ICD-SX712's microphones are noticeably more sensitive for recording even the slightest low-level sounds. My acoustic guitar fingerpicking gets recorded with the subtle sounds of my fingers working the strings, speech and vocals get recorded with the slight sounds of breathing, and the directional recording of a person speaking at the far end of a room or a stereo recording of both nearby and distant birds chirping in the trees all get recorded with great clarity. This new recorder introduces Sony's newly-developed 'S-Microphone System', and it combines advanced audio processing technology with a highly sensitive new microphone that captures even faint or distant subjects with extra clarity while reducing background hiss. A 'S-Master Digital Amplifier' produces great accuracy, clear separation of signals, and balanced sound reproduction using digital-to-digital processing, and the recorded signal is taken through the full-digital DSP stage without additional digital-to-analog conversion.

ѾѾѾѾѾ This voice recorder has lots of features with a great deal of usefulness! Do not feel apprehensive about feeling like you need to read all of this recorder's 155-page 'Operating Instructions' guide. You do not need to read all the pages to begin using this recorder effectively. For quick ease of use initially, you just need to read/skim the first 39 pages. This covers the basics of setup, recording, listening, and erasing. If you will mainly use the recorder for one, two, or three main purposes (e.g. dictation, group meetings, and music recording), you just need to familiarize yourself with a handful of the recorder's options for adjusting its recording parameters to suit each situation. For example, I mainly use my recorder for the following purposes: personal dictation with speech-to-text conversion using Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium 11, recording work-related phone calls, recording a group meeting, and recording musical performances either by me with friends or by others in a music rehearsal setting.

Like the previous ICD-SX750 model, this voice recorder comes with a thorough 'Operating Instructions' guide. On Sony's Web site, I did notice that there is also a simple 'Quick Start Guide' PDF that you can download. I do not know why this 'Quick Start Guide' was not included in the package, but perhaps since this product was only released a month ago, they did not have a printed 'Quick Start Guide' available for packaging at the time?

ѾѾѾѾѾ Setup is pretty simple. The recorder comes with two AAA alkaline batteries. I can also use my own rechargeable AAA batteries. When used with rechargeable batteries, the batteries will recharge whenever I connect the recorder to my computer using the supplied Mini-USB-to-USB cable. Alternately, I can use the USB cord to connect the recorder to a separately-purchased AC adapter, e.g. Belkin Mini Surge Protector Dual USB Charger or Sony's own Sony AC U50AD Power adapter. Rechargeable batteries take about 4 hours to fully recharge from an empty state. However, with the recorder connected via USB to a turned-on computer or to an AC adapter, I can charge the batteries while still using the recorder, which is very handy for very long recording sessions.

The ICD-SX712 can record in the following formats, listed with their approximate hours of recording time listed for using both fully-charged alkaline and rechargeable batteries, the maximum recording time that can be stored by the internal 2-GB flash memory, and the frequency range that is recorded:

LPCM 44.1kHz/16bit: 25 hrs alkaline, 19 hrs rechargeable; 3 hours 0 minutes; 40-20,000 Hz

MP3 320kbps: 22 hrs alkaline, 17 hrs rechargeable; 13 hours 20 minutes; 40-16,000 Hz

MP3 192kbps: 22 hrs alkaline, 17 hrs rechargeable; 22 hours 20 minutes; 40-16,000 Hz

MP3 128kbps: 22 hrs alkaline, 17 hrs rechargeable; 33 hours 30 minutes; 40-16,000 Hz

MP3 48kbps(MONO): 25 hrs alkaline, 19 hrs rechargeable; 89 hours 25 minutes; 40-14,000 Hz

MP3 8kbps(MONO): 25 hrs alkaline, 19 hrs rechargeable; 536 hours 0 minutes; 50-2,000 Hz

Note that this also means a fresh set of alkaline batteries will often provide significantly longer recording time than rechargeable batteries. This is especially true for rechargeable batteries that have been repeatedly recharged over a long period of time. Overall, this recorder has very good battery life.

Additionally, the recorder has a memory card slot that accepts either a Memory Stick Micro (M2) card of up to 16 GB, a microSD (FAT16) card up to 2 GB, or a microSDHC (FAT32) card from 4 GB to 32 GB. Along with its internal 2-GB of flash memory, I have also equipped my recorder with the Sony Memory Stick Micro M2 16 GB Flash Memory Card with USB Reader. When used with the two largest-capacity memory cards supported by the recorder, I can boost the recording time for each of the recording formats as follows:

LPCM 44.1kHz/16bit: 24 hours 15 minutes (16 GB), 48 hours 40 minutes (32 GB)

MP3 320kbps: 107 hours 0 minutes (16 GB), 214 hours 0 minutes (32 GB)

MP3 192kbps: 178 hours 0 minutes (16 GB), 357 hours 0 minutes (32 GB)

MP3 128kbps: 268 hours 0 minutes (16 GB), 536 hours 0 minutes (32 GB)

MP3 48kbps(MONO): 715 hours 0 minutes (16 GB), 1431 hours 0 minutes (32 GB)

MP3 8kbps(MONO): 4294 hours 0 minutes (16 GB), 8589 hours 0 minutes (32 GB)

And if this is still not enough recording time, I simply switch out the filled-up memory card and insert another empty memory card.

One big difference between the supported recording formats of the previous ICD-SX750 recorder and this ICD-SX712 is that Sony has discarded support for the five LPEC recording formats (STHQ, ST, STLP, SP, LP). LPEC is a compressed-sound codec that is proprietary to Sony. On the ICD-SX750, using a LPEC recording format allowed me to add a bookmark during playback of an LPEC recording, and I could also assign a 1-star, 2-star, or 3-star "priority" ranking to LPEC recordings. These were two nifty little features that I could not use with WAV or MP3 recording formats. But recording with LPEC format also meant that I needed extra Sony software in order to convert the LPEC format to a standard, and more portable, MP3 or WAV format (a function that was performed by the Sony 'Digital Voice Editor' software that was bundled with the ICD-SX750). So now, like Sony's professional line of digital audio recorders, the ICD-SX712 only supports industry-standard LPCM (WAV) and MP3 codec formats.

After inserting the batteries, I set the date and time, select the English/Spanish/French language option, and then I am ready to go!

ѾѾѾѾѾ I can either record the recorder's 2-GB built-in memory, or I can record directly to my installed memory card. Five folders are initially created in the memory card, along with the five initial folders in the built-in memory, and the folder structure is slightly different between the two. I can switch between recording to the built-in memory or to the memory card by pressing either the folder button or the [MENU] button. A nifty 'Cross-Memory Recording' option allows me to automatically continue recording onto the memory card after I have filled up the 2-GB built-in memory. The maximum number of folders that I can have is 400, and the maximum number of files is 4074.

ѾѾѾѾѾ The recorder has flexible file functions, including protecting files from being erased or edited, and moving or copying files. I can rename any of the folders using one of the 16 pre-defined folder name options.

ѾѾѾѾѾ Unlike the ICD-SX750, which had two stereo microphones and a mono/directional microphone located in between the two stereo microphones, this ICD-SX712 only has the two unidirectional stereo microphones. Both microphones have a directional response pattern when they are both pointed forward in a 0-degree angle, and they mimic a cardioid-like microphone response when I use my finger to flip them to face outward at a 120-degree angle for stereo recording. The 0-degree microphone position, with both microphones pointed forward, is great for uses like personal dictation, interviewing someone, or recording a speaker who is either in a conference room or auditorium, where you want to focus the recording in one direction. The 120-degree microphone position is great for recording all surrounding sounds in stereo, such as recording a group meeting or recording a live music rehearsal or concert. The stereo recording does a great job of picking up all left-right and near-far spatial information.

ѾѾѾѾѾ Recording parameters have been simplified with five 'Scene' presets. There are basically three recording parameters that you need to think about in order to use this recorder effectively: the recording format mode, the recording level microphone sensitivity, and whether to record in directional or stereo mode. All of the recorder's other features can be investigated later.

A new 'Scene' function now takes the uncertainty out of adjusting recorder settings to suit your recording situation, and it makes it tremendously easy to quickly switch between five different sets of recording parameters. The five 'Scene' modes are referred to as "Meeting", "Voice Notes", "Interview", "Music", and your own custom "My Scene" preset. For each of the five 'Scene' presets, you can define its own combination of settings for record mode, record level, low cut filter and limiter settings, voice-operated recording, and synchronized recording options. The default settings for each 'Scene' allow for the foolproof recording of clear, natural-sounding results for each situation. You can also edit the defaults for each scene to suit your needs. The 'Scene' terminology reminds me of the 'scene' modes that are widely used in digital cameras, especially the user-friendly point-and-shoot digital cameras, for using pre-programmed camera exposure setups for people who do not want to (or know how to) adjust the settings by themselves. Essentially, you get five easily accessible presets of recording parameters that you can edit, modify, save, and access. On my older Sony ICD-SX750 model, if I wanted to shift gears between personal dictation and recording a live music rehearsal, I had to go into the recorder's menu functions and manually switch my recording parameters each time.

The following describes the five 'Scene Select' menu options, the default recording parameters that are used, and some of my own recommended changes that I made using the 'Scene Edit' function.

✵ "Meeting" :: To record in a variety of situations, such as recording a meeting in a spacious conference room or a lecture in an auditorium.

Default setup: (REC Mode: MP3 192kbps), (REC Level: Medium), (Low Cut Filter: On), (Limiter: Off), (Voice-Operated Recording: Off), (Synchronized Recording: Off)

Notes: Point both microphones forward at a 0-degree angle to focus on one speaker, or at a 120-degree angle to record stereo sounds such as a group meeting where there are multiple speakers from different directions. Set 'REC Level' to "High", instead of "Medium", if the speaker is far away or not speaking loud enough.

✵ "Voice Notes" :: To record dictation with the microphone in front of your mouth. This is also the 'Scene' to use when recording dictation that is to be transcribed into text using Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

Default setup: (REC Mode: MP3 128kbps), (REC Level: Low), (Low Cut Filter: On), (Limiter: Off), (Voice-Operated Recording: Off), (Synchronized Recording: Off)

Notes: Point both microphones forward at a 0-degree angle. Because Dragon NaturallySpeaking needs high-quality recordings for accurate speech recognition transcriptions, I change the default 'REC Mode' to the better "MP3 320kbps".

✵ "Interview" :: To record another human being interviewed.

Default setup: (REC Mode: MP3 192kbps), (REC Level: Medium), (Low Cut Filter: On), (Limiter: Off), (Voice-Operated Recording: Off), (Synchronized Recording: Off)

Notes: Point both microphones forward at a 0-degree angle. I also use this 'Scene' when recording a phone call where I point the recorder at the phone's speakerphone.

✵ "Music" :: To record live music.

Default setup: (REC Mode: LPCM 44.1kHz/16bit), (REC Level: Low(Music)), (Low Cut Filter: Off), (Limiter: Off), (Voice-Operated Recording: Off), (Synchronized Recording: Off)

Notes: Position the microphones at the 120-degree angle to record stereo sounds from all directions. The 'REC Level' microphone sensitivity setting of "Low(Music)" is better for loud music such as band practice or rock music, or when your audio input is a CD player. A 'REC Level' setting of "High(Music)" is better for acoustic instruments, or when your audio input is a tape recorder or portable CD player.

✵ "My Scene" :: Use to store your favorite settings.

Default setup: (REC Mode: LPCM 44.1kHz/16bit), (REC Level: Manual, with the recording level set to "10"), (Low Cut Filter: Off), (Limiter: On), (Voice-Operated Recording: Off), (Synchronized Recording: Off)

Notes: This can be used to store your favorite combination of settings, especially if you use a manually-adjusted recording level that you have configured and want to re-use later. When manually adjusting the recording level, the 'Limiter' function is activated to prevent distortion due to sound bursts being too loud.

All of the 'Scene' recording parameters are displayed on the backlit LCD screen using words or graphical icons.

ѾѾѾѾѾ Compared with the previous ICD-SX750, the ergonomics of the new ICD-SX712's layout have been significantly improved, making it far easier to access all of the recorder's many functions, even if I have not used some of the functions for many months. The ICD-SX750 had a nice LCD display, but I had to access everything through its [MENU] button and all of its record/playback buttons were located on the recorder's right side. On the ICD-SX712, I can now directly access the folder structure from its own dedicated button, the 'Scene Select' option has its own [SCENE] button, and except for the 'VOLUME', 'ERASE', and repeat buttons on the right side, all record and playback buttons are located on the front below the LCD display. The recorder has a 4-way rocker switch that is very intuitive to use, and the menu system makes use of a layout that groups all functions under 5 main tabs, 'Recording', 'Playback', 'Edit', 'LCD Display Settings', 'Recorder Settings', and some tabs use sub-tabs.

ѾѾѾѾѾ A small LED indicator light turns green during playback and turns red during recording operations.

ѾѾѾѾѾ For recording a meeting room that has the background hum of an air conditioner, recording a speaker at a convention or auditorium where there is extraneous noise, or recording someone speaking during gusty winds, setting the 'LCF (Low Cut Filter)' to "ON" will cut out frequencies below 200 Hz (e.g. room ventilation, machinery humming, wind).

ѾѾѾѾѾ There is also an 'NOISE CUT' slider switch that can be used during playback of the recording to cut out both high and low frequencies, thereby focusing more on the midrange frequencies of human voices. This frequency filter can be set to either a "Maximum" or "Medium" mode to enhance human speech and reduce distracting background noise. Compared to the previous ICD-SX750 model's 'NOISE CUT' function, Sony calls their newly-developed filter an 'Intelligent Noise Cut' because, unlike other digital voice recorders that simply cut high and low frequencies, 'Intelligent Noise Cut' analyzes the fingerprint of background noise, removing unwanted frequencies to leave recorded speech sounding crisp and natural. This is highly useful, for example, if you are interviewing someone on a noisy sidewalk.

Sony advertises that this new ICD-SX712 model has a newly-designed acoustic isolation that cuts the transmission of mechanical and handling noise to both microphones from the main recorder. So its microphones are supposedly better decoupled from the main recorder body. But you really should have all of your recording parameters already thought out and set up before you begin recording as various movements of the recorder's switches, pressing of buttons to access and change various recording menu functions (via the backlit LCD screen), flipping the microphones between their 0-degree and 120-degree positions, or sliding of your fingers across the unit will still get included into the recording, even if the microphone sensitivity is set to "Low". Ideally, have the recorder fully set up before the recording, and use the included stand to prop up the microphone. Unless the situation warrants it (e.g. interviewing someone while standing up), try to avoid holding or adjusting the recorder once the recording has started.

ѾѾѾѾѾ Instead of a slider switch that is labeled "On/Off", the on/off switch on this recorder is labeled "POWER/HOLD". To turn the device on or off, I slide the switch to the left. Or I can slide the switch to the right to place the recorder in "HOLD" mode. The "HOLD" mode holds the recorder in whatever operation mode I am using (play, stop, pause, record). When the recorder is on "HOLD" during a certain operation, I cannot accidentally interrupt that function when I carry the recorder around or hold it in my hand. So using this "HOLD" slider switch protects me from inadvertently pressing the "pause" or "stop" button during an extended recording session since the recorder will not respond to the pressing of any buttons while it is in "HOLD" mode.

ѾѾѾѾѾ Whereas the previous ICD-SX750 had a 'DIVIDE' button to dynamically divide an ongoing recording into separate messages, the ICD-SX712 now has a more-flexible 'T-MARK' button to add track marks during recording, playback, or pausing operations. Track marks are used in both Sony's Net MD MiniDisc recorders and their professional audio recorders, and they function like bookmarks in a recording. I can add up to 98 track marks per recording file. I can use these track marks to jump to different positions in the recording during playback (especially useful for lengthy recordings), or I can use these track marks to later divide the recording into separate messages. I can also combine/add or overwrite sections of messages and recordings.

ѾѾѾѾѾ I can monitor an ongoing recording by listening to it through headphones connected to the recorder.

ѾѾѾѾѾ I can connect an external stereo microphone or external equipment such as a CD player to record from those sources. The recorder provides "plug in power" for use with an external microphone.

ѾѾѾѾѾ The recorder has a voice-operated recording function, which starts recording when sound is detected, and pauses when no sound is heard, so recording halts during silent periods.

ѾѾѾѾѾ The recorder has a 'SYNC REC' synchronized recording function that is similar to the voice-operated recording function, but is intended for connecting the audio output of other equipment (e.g. CD player) to the recorder's microphone jack. The recorder then pauses when no sound is input, and starts recording when you start playback on the external equipment's sound source.

ѾѾѾѾѾ The recordings can be played back either through the recorder's built-in speaker or through the headphone jack (headphones will obviously provide much better playback sound quality).

ѾѾѾѾѾ One playback function that I use a lot is the 'Digital Pitch Control'. On the older ICD-SX750, this allowed me to change the playback speed between 200% and -75% of a recording's normal speed. This is really useful for me when I am learning a really complex guitar riff that I recorded from a live rehearsal; I can slow down the recording to learn from it and practice along with it at a slower pace, and even at the maximum "-75%" slowdown in tempo, the pitch is not changed, which is awesome for music applications. And for a lecture where the speaker is talkiinnngggg reaaallllyy slow, I can speed it up without having the speaker sound like a Chipmunk. On this new ICD-SX712, this feature has been made uber-cool for musicians and singers, because in addition to being able to adjust the playback speed/tempo between 25% (or -75%) and 300%, I can also independently adjust the sound by up to six halftones (semitones) higher or lower. Using the 4-way rocker switch, I press the left/right buttons to decrease/increase playback speed, and I press the up/down buttons to change the key higher/lower. The LCD display shows an X/Y-axis graph of how you are adjusting the sounds, and the sharp/flat icon (#/b) is displayed if you are changing to higher/lower halftones.

ѾѾѾѾѾ The recorder has six very useful playback style settings: "Pop" (emphasizes middle ranges, ideal for vocals); "Rock" (emphasizes high and low ranges for a powerful sound); "Jazz" (emphasizes high ranges for lively sound); "Bass1" (emphasizes bass); "Bass2" (emphasizes bass even more); "Custom" (you can design your own custom sound using its 5-band equalizer).

ѾѾѾѾѾ Another cool playback feature, useful for lecture, seminar, and crowd environments is the 'Digital Voice Up' (V-UP). This function boosts and amplifies the low-level sounds in the recording, great for hearing low voices that were recorded from a distance out of range or away from the direction of the microphone. If you are recording in a spacious auditorium where you are seated towards the rear, you can set the 'REC Level' to "High" to record a sound located far away from the recorder or a low sound. And then if you still need additional volume from the low-level sound, during playback of this recording, you can use the 'Digital Voice Up' function at either its "Maximum" or "Medium" strength.

ѾѾѾѾѾ The recorder has an alarm clock function to play back a recording at a specific date and time.

ѾѾѾѾѾ A new and very useful feature that Sony added is that I can now search for a recording based on what date it was recorded. From the menu, the 'Calendar' option will display a monthly calendar, and the days when a recording was stored will be underlined on the monthly calendar display. So if I want to retrieve recordings of music rehearsals on a particular weekend or a Monday morning work meeting, this feature makes them easy to find!

ѾѾѾѾѾ When I plug the recorder into my computer using the supplied USB cord, the device looks like a 2-GB flash drive, with various folders containing the .WAV (for LPCM recordings), or .MP3 files. If the recorder's memory card slot has a Memory Stick Micro (M2) or microSD/microSDHC card installed, I can also access these folders just like any other external storage device; in this case, the built-in memory and memory card will display as two separate drive letters. I can use the recorder's flash memory simply as a USB flash drive to store text files onto it if I wanted to. And I can just drag-and-drop the files from the recorder's folders onto my computer's hard drive.

ѾѾѾѾѾ Using the Windows-only (not Mac-compatible) 'Sound Organizer' software, I can transfer files that I have recorded to my computer to manage and edit them. I can also transfer music files and podcast files stored on my computer to the recorder. I can also access the same editing and playback functions that are on the recorder itself, such as adding track marks and dividing a recording into pieces or using the 'Digital Pitch Control'. With Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software installed, I can also start the transcribing of a recorded speech file from within the 'Sound Organizer' software. I select the recorded speech file that I want to transcribe, select the 'Dragon' menu option, Dragon converts the recording into text, and I make corrections in the pop-up 'DragonPad' Notepad-like text editor to both correct the transcription mistakes that Dragon made and to further (hopefully) train Dragon to learn and adapt from the corrected mistakes. 'Sound Organizer' also has rudimentary CD-burning functions that let me create an audio CD, MP3 CD, or data CD from the recorder's files. Even though this 'Sound Organizer' software is not Mac-compatible, Mac users do not need this to transfer the files from the recorder onto their computer.

One of the 'Sound Organizer' software options lets me start up Sony's great 'Sound Forge Audio Studio' software. HOWEVER, Sony no longer offers this bundled with their latest and greatest ICD recorder. Arggh.

My previous ICD-SX750 was bundled with a Windows-only 'Sound Forge Audio Studio 9 LE' that is geared towards music editing and production. This "LE" version is the "lite edition" of Sony's industry-standard two-channel audio-editing program for Windows, with some useful extras thrown in, and a nice $60+ package if you were to buy this software separately. With Sound Forge Audio Studio, I can perform a variety of digital audio editing functions: save and convert in many formats; change sample rate and bit depth; edit, cut, paste, fade-in/out; set markers and regions within a recording; apply frequency equalization adjustments, swap channels, and even play the audio in reverse. The "version 9 LE" comes with 11 sound processing effects that I can apply to the audio such as chorus, delay, reverb, wah-wah, and distortion. There is also a 'Vocal Eraser' plug-in which tries to remove the vocals from the mix to make a karaoke version of a song; this works with varying degrees of effectiveness. I can archive vinyl recordings and use its 'Vinyl Restoration' noise reduction and 'Audio Restoration' features to adjust the amount of clean-up of clicks and pops and unwanted hiss. Although this software does not offer true multi-track mixing, it does allow me to mix external audio tracks into a recording. And although this is not a video editing tool, I can edit audio files and then attach them to video files. I import the video file, and then edit the soundtrack by scrubbing, as if I had a jog/shuttle control, using the [J], [K], [L] keys on my keyboard to reverse, pause, or forward the playback. When I am finished with my audio editing, I can then burn a CD from the application, or I can also extract audio tracks from a CD for use within the application.

But it appears that Sony is now only bundling the "LE" version of their great 'Audio Studio' software with their more-expensive line of 96-kHz/24-bit Digital Field Recorders. I was hoping that they would bundle a "LE" lite version of their 'Sound Forge Audio Studio 10', but I have to purchase that separately... or just continue to use my existing 'Sound Forge Audio Studio 9 LE'.

NOTE: My review does not end here, but continues onto the 'Comment' section of this review. Amazon does not let me post my entire review in one piece, so I split it into two pieces :-( (continue to the 'Comment' section to keep reading :-)

Buy Sony ICD-SX712 Digital Flash Voice Recorder Now

I bought this recorder primarily to record large group meetings in big rooms. I'm taking over as secretary for an organization that may have as many as 80-90 people present. My predecessor used a Sony IC-MX20 for this purpose and highly recommended it. In checking Sony's web site I found that was no longer in production. This looked like a good choice instead, and so far it's working very well.

I've used it so far to record several smaller meetings, but still in fairly large rooms. I was amazed at how well this picks up voices and the quality of the sound. Battery life so far is good, I'm still on the first set of AAA batteries after recording about 5 hours of material.

The included software was a snap to install, and very easy to work with. It's a huge benefit to be able to have the recording on your computer while typing meeting minutes. The software lets you move quickly to any part of the recording you need to hear in order, to make sure the typed information is accurate.

The instruction manual is the typical Sony mangeled syntax, but I did not find it difficult to find the information i needed to set up and and start recording.

So far I'm extremely pleased with my purchase. It has exceeded my expectations in terms of sound pick-up and quality.

Read Best Reviews of Sony ICD-SX712 Digital Flash Voice Recorder Here

Purchased this for training session recordings for business conference in large room, with 25+ attendees. Out of the box, was very straight forward but with plenty of customization options. The "meeting" setting worked much better than expected, capturing the instructor's voice with unbelievable quality while positioned an average of 20 feet away (instructor movement in front of class ranged from about 10 feet to over 25 feet away from recorder). The adjustable angle on the stereo mics helps with capturing both the instructor and attendee discussions, but can also be focused for single direction recording. After recording almost 3 hours of content, simply connected the USB cable to my notebook and transferred the digital voice to my computer where it can be further analyzed, reviewed, and critiqued. This is an outstanding device... will be using it much more for future training session evaluations.

Want Sony ICD-SX712 Digital Flash Voice Recorder Discount?

I am a journalist who has been using audio recorders since the 1980s and moved from tape to digital in the mid-1990s. For most purposes using a very pocketable recorded like the Olympus WS-320M, which I've used for years and love for its portability and ease of use, is good enough.

In recent years I've had the opportunity to interview historically significant subjects on a one-on-one basis, which led me increasingly to be concerned about the audio quality of the interviews for possible future broadcast use. I've tried a variety of high-quality, low-cost recorders in recent years, most recently the Zoom H1 and now this new Sony ICD-SX712.

I've used both in the field long enough now to say that the Sony is the hands down winner.

I record both manually using the current sampling rate standard of 44.1/16. The sound quality on both are nearly identical, which is to say very good and easily broadcast quality.

The Sony has these advantages over the Zoom H1:

Considerably less handling noise.

Better wind noise resistance, although a quality windscreen is a must for both, especially for outside use.

Pausing the recording is possible with the Sony and not the Zoom. This is perhaps the biggest advantage of the Sony. If a phone call comes in and the person I'm interviewing has to stop our interview for a few seconds, I can simply pause the Sony. With the Zoom I had to stop the recording and then start a whole new file a very big hassle.

The Sony is slightly more pocketable, although heavier.

Much better battery life with the Sony.

Tougher build quality.

Finally with the Sony, if you are trying to get the ultimate sound quality for archival purposes use the LPCM mode instead of MP3. You can always easily convert the files to MP3 later. Also record manually and set your level where it peaks at about -12db. Using the auto level and other modes presents unwanted transient noise into the recordings.

Here's a link to a recording I made with the Sony at a local coffee shop.

Save 11% Off

Small Fast Versatile

Exactly what I needed.

Buy Dragon Premium separately don't buy the kit you'll be thankful you spent the few extra bucks.

My copy of Dragon (from Amazon) was the latest 11.5, even though it said 11.0 on the page.

It's a free upgrade (download) anyway, just in case.

Batteries last a long time (rechargeable batteries are not included unless you buy the Dragon kit so what?)

Comes with a very handy printed manual but download the PDF from Sony for use at the computer.

The printed manual is excellent for carrying around until you get used to using the SX712.

I was dictating into notepad within 15 minutes with about 98% accuracy I was very surprised.

* Buy a Class4 micro SD card (16g will give you about 100 hours of hi-res sound [320/mp3]

__ Sandisk 16GB 16G Micro SDHC Class 4 TF Memory Card with Micro SD Card Reader Bulk Packed

* Buy Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable AAA batteries they work great last years and hold a good charge.

__ Sanyo NEW 1500 eneloop 4 Pack AAA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries

* Buy a Case Logic semi-hard case (6" or bigger inside) It will hold both recorder and all the extra stuff.

__ Case Logic PHDC-1 Small EVA External Hard Drive Case (Blue)

* Buy some headphones

__ Koss CS95 Speech Recogniton Computer Headset

or

__ Koss CS100 Speech Recognition Computer Headset

* And to complete everything, get a switch so you don't have to unhook your speakers when using the headphones

__ Plantronics PC Headset Speaker Switch (I have both: Plantronics is my favorite)

or

__ Audio Speaker / Headset Switching Hub, Manhattan 172851

Comes with Sound Organizer from Sony very very handy. Go to Sony and download latest while you're waiting for delivery. Get the manual too, and read up on the recorder before you get it.

Great product it all works better than I hoped.

(now, when I have a thought or idea in the middle of the night, I can make a note without turning on a light and looking for pen & paper -ok, despite what people say: I do have occasional thoughts)