Rating: 
Summary: Very Poor Sonics, Overly Complex User Interface
Review: I highly recommend the Sony or Radio Shack digital recorder product lines (even those priced under $50). They are extremely easy to use with quite acceptable sonics; and when compared from a price/performance perspective they are far superior to that of my DS 150 digital. The complex "wheel-driven" menu user interface of the DS 150 is klunky at best (and confusing when accidently depressed which is quite easy to do), not designed for internet time, and the miniture play and shuffle keys are not well suited for human finger manipulation (the tactile feel, in particular, is missing which causes use problems). The sonics (both play and record) are poor from a price/performance perspective, and this was simply not expected from an Olympus high-end product. I do not recommend purchase of the Olympus DS 150 (I already replaced it with a Sony digital, and use a small Optimus digital while jogging for its simple user interface). If you are still considering the DS 150 for purchase, however, I highly recommend that you first give it a shakedown cruise in a real store (trial it as you would expect to use it) -- buyer beware.
Rating: 
Summary: Just hope you do not need tech support.
Review: I like the recorder a lot, but I will not restate what has already been said regarding functionality. However, just make sure you lock the DSS software in a safety deposit box. Olympus tech support is horrible. I lost the software (yes, my fault) and called tech support to see where I could download it. They had no idea, and blatantly stated that they did not have time for a "non-tech" issue. Called another support number, the service rep had no idea why I would need the software to record and suggested that I use the DSS lite software (which is just for playing the files, not interfacing). Long story short, four weeks later, no software. If anyone knows where I can get a copy (I was told it is freely distributed), please let me know.
Rating:
Summary: Just hope you do not need tech support.
Review: I like the recorder a lot, but I will not restate what has already been said regarding functionality. However, just make sure you lock the DSS software in a safety deposit box. Olympus tech support is horrible. I lost the software (yes, my fault) and called tech support to see where I could download it. They had no idea, and blatantly stated that they did not have time for a "non-tech" issue. Called another support number, the service rep had no idea why I would need the software to record and suggested that I use the DSS lite software (which is just for playing the files, not interfacing). Long story short, four weeks later, no software. If anyone knows where I can get a copy (I was told it is freely distributed), please let me know.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but software lacks Win2K support
Review: I purchased the DS-150 about 4 months ago and have not been satisfied with the product. The recording and playback quality is poor and the voice recognition software accompanied with the product is extremely hard to set-up correctly and use. Save your money and buy a standard tape driven recorder!
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the money
Review: I purchased the DS-150 about 4 months ago and have not been satisfied with the product. The recording and playback quality is poor and the voice recognition software accompanied with the product is extremely hard to set-up correctly and use. Save your money and buy a standard tape driven recorder!
Rating:
Summary: Mine broke after one year of service
Review: I'm not impressed at all.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but software lacks Win2K support
Review: On the whole, I am quite pleased with this recorder. The sound quality is good and it fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. The controls require some attention to operate as they are small and closely spaced. You need to read the manual carefully to understand how the system operates, but once this is done using the recorder seems straightforward enough. The unit I received includes IBM Viavoice Millennium version 7 voice recognition software. One small problem: Windows 2000 is not supported, and the software does not work on my Windows 2000 system. (Windows 2000 is only officially supported by IBM Viavoice Millennium version 8, Professional edition.) One thing I would like included is a small carry case to protect the unit. It does come with a carry strap.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful, yes, and better than the Sony
Review: Other reviewers have done an excellent job of describing the benefits of this tool so I'll be brief. First, you will use it in new ways as long as you're not embarassed by the 'note to self' jokes. Phone numbers, addresses, to do's, random musings, and more. For months when I was very busy I'd keep it near my bed to clear my head before falling asleep. Eventually enough would be in the recorder (and I didn't have to turn on the light) that I could stop worrying about forgetting. I bought the Sony version of this product and in the end it's probably a wash. They have the same functionality, linking capability, length, etc. The Sony is much more elegant and that is what won the day. Later, I regreted not buying this one because of the Via Voice software (if only just to play with it) but I have heard not one supportive comment about it. Either nobody is using it or it doesn't work. RE: Linking or downloading. This is useful if you need to store things (remember, there is no tape to remove if you want to keep something) such as lectures, interviews. The problem is that the compression software is not yet standardized and files end up being huge. If you're using this as a memo device and have no storage needs, I'd consider the model below this (I think it's about half the price). Last note. If you already carry a cell phone and a PDA, you will find you're pockets too full with this addition. Like me, you will hope for some convergence soon. If this were in my Nokia, I'd be sending voice emails all the time.
Rating:
Summary: OK, but disappointing
Review: There are some things that are worthwhile in the DS-150. It's small size and light weight is welcome, and it is quite easy to save sound files on my computer in WAV format (my primary criterion for purchase.) However, it's user interface is simply one of the worst I have ever seen. Even after following the steps in the manual, I found myself unable to perform simple operations like setting the time without referring to the manual again. It makes the average VCR look good! If you've seen an Olympus manual before, you know what to expect. Written in five languages, it's hard on the eyes, cryptic, badly organized, and full of tragic grammatical errors. The sound quality isn't all that great either. Forget the ViaVoice software - it's a complete joke, unless you need inspiration for your strange dadaist poetry. How can anyone claim to provide useful "voice recognition" when it doesn't even get half the words correct? IBM and Olympus should hang their heads in shame for perpetrating this kind of hoax on the public. I really needed a small voice recorder that interfaces with my computer, so I grit my teeth and suffer the pain of this inadequately designed product. But I'm not going to suffer in silence. When you're banging your head against the wall, it doesn't hurt so much when you can ... and moan about it.
Rating: 
Summary: my first digital recorder, I like it a lot.
Review: This is my first digital recorder - the earlier ones seemed to be more like toys with too little storage for practical use. One thing that sold me on the DS-150 was not having to worry about storage capacity or deleting messages earlier than I might want in order to free space. My voice sounds like my voice when I play it back. Controls are easy to use with one exception - erasing messages - that control could be laid out a little better so that you don't have to look at the unit when erasing a message - no big deal except if you're driving. I use mine for all kinds of things: recording thoughts, insights, or forgotten to-dos while driving, movie times, directions to businesses, song album titles or other info that I hear on TV/Radio that I want to take note of to look into, private dry runs of speeches or presentations I'm going to make, capturing serial numbers from equipment where its hard enough to see it while you are on the floor let alone write it down in an ackward position. I've been very pleased with mine and use it daily. I have not connected it to my computer yet, but plan to give that a shot too. It will be great when this technology merges with personal organizers, each of which has its advantages. The easiest way of entering information you want to recall is certainly using speech. For quick notes or ideas, using this type of recorder is much quicker than having to write on paper or with a stylus. It's especially useful while driving when you can't write easily/safely. Not as useful in public places where its more intimidating to be seen talking to yourself! This is a great way to capture those insights, ideas, and thoughts that come to us before they escape. The ability to pause recordings by voice activation or manually (my preference) makes it useful for building lists or general brainstorming where you want to say something and then think some before adding more. And of course, unlike a mini-cassette recorder it is easy to clean up old messages one at a time since they are stored as individual messages as well as having two folders to choose between in filing them. To me though, the key thing that makes this a successful product is good voice quality and enough storage capacity that you don't really have to worry about how much time you have left available. I do think some of the controls / function layouts could be improved further by Olympus, but not a major gripe. Doesn't seem to eat batteries and automatically powers down when not in use.
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