Olympus owns the digital voice recorder marketplace, so it would be easy for it to kick back and not worry about updating or improving its lineup. Instead the company’s released three new models, the DS series, just in time for the holidays CES.
The Olympus DS-30 (256MB, $150), DS-40 (512MB, $200) and DS-50 (1GB, $250) boast high sound and recording quality along with a host of features to make them equally as great for entertainment as they are for work. Each model features a detachable stereo microphone and internal monaural mic as well as settings for three levels of sensitivity (lecture, conference, and dictation). There are three types of noise cancellation, too (low-cut filter, voice filter, and noise cancel) and they are capable of recording in an extra-quality stereo SXQ mode that can record and play audio content up to 44.1kHz at 128Kbps. Plus, on just two AAA batteries you get up to 32 hours of continuous operation.
For those not so good with learning new devices or even if you’re just trying to work in a low-light environment, all of the models feature audible instruction and confirmation of menu options and selections.
Olympus wanted to offer a little more than just a recorder, so each unit supports playback of music in MP3 and WMA formats and Audible.com files for listening to your favorite audiobooks. Loading it up with audio is done through the bundled DSS Player software. You can also set it up to listen to podcasts. Just connect one of the recorders to your PC via the included USB cable and drag and drop RSS feeds into the podcast folder. Every time you connect the recorder to the PC, it’ll update the feeds.
Olympus Makes Podcast Listening and Recording Simple [press release]