Whether you need transcripts for lectures, conversations, dictations for articles or books, or just your own personal thoughts, nothing is more convenient than a portable recording device. In today’s plugged-in world, make sure your recorder has a USB port or an external memory card slot so the audio file can be easily exported and shared with your transcription provider. With that in mind, here are 5 affordable voice recording devices available for purchase on Amazon.
FlatLED Digital Audio Voice Recorder USB Pen Drive 150 Hours (8GB)
Promising Review:
“Portable size and large memory. I use it for my survey interview and it works great. The voice is very clear and it can be transferred to my computer very easily. It looks like a USB drive and easy to operate.” — Yvette
Price: $18.99
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Digital Voice Recorder, eBoTrade 8GB
Promising Review:
“Completely satisfied customer! I’ve owned a few voice recorders over the years and this one is by far the best unit I have used. The small/compact design packs a durable battery life and gobs of storage. I went with the 8 GB of storage and should be able to record for a month at a time before I need to transfer files to my computer. The front facing speaker on this unit also packs a punch and delivers a balanced sound. Also very convenient with this product is the headphones, microphone, telephone attachment, and USB charging cord for upload/download and charging on any device.” — Connor
Price: $22.99
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Digital Voice Recorder with Fast Charging by EVIDA
Promising Review:
“I purchased this for my wife to record public speeches on conferences. To my surprise, this device reduces noise and records voice perfectly fine. Please note that I don’t have this requirement to record with crystal clear clarity. I only needed to record the sounds so that we can listen to it later and convert the contents to text. This one worked for about 3 days without a single recharge. Cannot ask for more!” — Enigma
Price: $26.99
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Voice Recorder Evistr 8GB
Promising Review:
“I bought this digital recorder to record my meetings. This digital recorder gave me a nice surprise. First, the size is very convenient; I can carry it around in any of my pockets. And its recordings are very clear and its playback is crisp clear. Then, it is very simple to operate, easily connectable to any PC to download the content for editing. Overall a very good product.” — Jane Zhang
Price: $29.88
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Sony ICDPX370 Mono Digital Voice Recorder with Built-in USB
Promising Review:
“Easy to use and have recorded a number of lectures with this one. The range and quality are very good despite having poor acoustics in the class, and a teacher that mumbles and inserts southern colloquialisms during his rambling lectures.” — Jason
Price: $46.99
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This list does not include the top-of-the-line, expensive devices on the market, but these options, even though we didn’t test them personally, will certainly work well enough for everyday situations that don’t require archival quality audio. If you are searching for something more specialized, take a look at these 7 digital recording devices for oral history interviews.
And finally, never underestimate the power of good habits to record better audio, no matter what kind of device you own.