Rating: 
Summary: cute device missing on the Titanic
Review: The VN90 is a cute device that looks like a cell phone but feels like a light plastic toy
i have mine for more than a year and it still works. Unlike tapes, digital is magic and seems it will last forever. I wish they were playing with these on the Titanic so we could listen to old conversations and notes from the past, provided they were left in air pockets, a posting says it does not survive washmachine :-(i use it a lot! i also still use paper notes, it's a competition
voice notes are easier to take, like during a hike, and much safer while driving
taking a phone number or an address is so convienient
then at the end of day i can just review latest messages, add more when going to bed and have a more relaxed sleep (except when i come accross a rush note where I do not understand myself anymore) i regret the ergonomy; all buttons feel the same so it is still necessary to look at the device quiclky to operate it and at night some dim light is necessary
the size is good (nice fit in hand) but i wish a mini version existed that i can attach to my keychain along with my car alarm, always
the device is easy to use, sturdy, and the 2 batteries last almost forever
note that at replacement messages are NOT lost
i like the 3 folders A,B,C capability and the fact that folder C has date-month compartiments is great, though it takes forever to review messages in these 365 boxes the sound is of pretty good quality (i wish my answ machine had such a sound, so i can record music in my greeting) An when it's not clear it's because there was noise around. Unfortunately there's no feature 'record my voice but not the background noise of the street or restaurant'
the device has no computer link capability. Too bad, it would
be nice to put some 'voicessages' on hard disk. now a few tips if you have one:
tip1: write your phone number on it on the back. This way i lost and recovered mine one day. Think that the recorder with messages of sentimental value on it is then worth much more than the original cost.
other tip: deposit some wax glue dots on the buttons (eg 1 blop on play and 2 blops on stop, imitating braille) so you can operate the device without looking at it
tip3: the microphone is not on the front but on the back! still talk as if it was on the front. However when recording on a phone handset (for example i am in Paris in a phone booth remotely reading an important message and need a copy on my olympus) please apply the back (the tiny area with 2 grooves above the word battery) on the speaker of the handset, and your ear on top of this like a sandwich. You can then hangup and replay at no cost. Works great.
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