Do you get your best ideas while driving, eating or when your hands are otherwise too occupied to jot them down? Panasonic's ultra-light, ultra-petite digital IC Recorder may be for you.
It uses a flash-memory chip to let you record up to 99 voice memos, interviews and messages of a total 60 minutes. It is an easy-to-use gadget that shows off the Japanese ingenuity for cramming multiple controls into the tiniest package.
The Recorder is a triumph of design, not technology. The flash-memory chip used to store the audio is only 16 megabits, the condenser microphone is tiny, and the voice compression technology is similar to that used in first-generation mobile phones.
Sound quality varies depending on the situation. Quality was adequate when I held the Recorder to my mouth to take a voice memo and for a two-way conversation in a quiet room.
The microphone is small, but tuned to a high sensitivity, meaning it tends to pick up background noise. Do not expect to record meetings in a conference room, or a conversation in a restaurant. And you would not want to record anything other than voices: music sounded like it was piped underwater.
Full marks for the IC Recorder's elegant interface, though. It uses a jog dial combined with an LCD screen, which is fast-becoming standard on digital cameras and mini-disc players.
Twirl the dial to move among your stored sound files, and press it to select the one you want. The LCD screen tells you the file number, the recording date, length of file, and remaining battery life.