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I switch my PDAs fairly often and currently have an iPaq 1910. You may be familiar with this device
and if not, then you should know that it has a limited amount of RAM and does not include a few Pocket
PC 2002 programs in ROM. These include Microsoft Reader, Terminal Services, and Windows Media Player.
I thought I was going to have to load Windows Media Player on my device to listen to some music, but
then discovered a wonderful product that serves a couple functions. VITO SoundExplorer is designed as a powerful
voice recorder application. It also has the benefit of serving as a MP3 player, thus eliminating my
need for WMP. You may have seen a couple of these new recording applications released lately, but I
found this one to be the best. I couldn't even get the Resco application to record anything and I have
seen poor reports from many people. VITO has made some great applications in the past (just search our
reviews for several) and continue the tradition with the SoundExplorer.
I regularly have used the built-in microphone for recording thoughts that come into my head or
things that I must remember to do while I am driving. It is impossible to enter text data while
watching the road and I find the voice recorder to be helpful. One thing that has continued to drive
me nuts with the built-in recording function is the way it opens Notes and places your recording in
whatever last folder you happened to be working in the Notes database. I often then have to go through
several folders and find the recordings. Also, with a RAM challenged device like the 1910 there is not
much room for making long recordings. SoundExplorer has solved these problems with the ability to save
recordings in any folder and on the storage card. I now have a folder for voice recordings on my SD
card and every time I tap my record button they are stored in there for me.
File menu
The program is fairly small in size and runs extremely fast, even on my 200MHZ iPaq. I have my
record button set to launch SoundExplorer and with one button press the application is launched. You
then have to press it a second time to start the recording and third time to stop. You can also hold
the record button in and it will start the recording and then you have to tap it again to stop the
recording. I prefer the 3 button press method because on my CLIE I keep accidentally tapping the
record button and inadvertently creating long recordings and on my iPaq 1910 it is difficult to keep
the button held in for longer recordings. I love to record things I hear on the radio and if I had to
hold the button in to do so I would never get good recordings. I know it is difficult to keep it held
in on a couple devices I have recently used, the Dell Axim and iPaq 1910.
There are a few settings you can change in SoundExplorer. You can select from the same list of
quality recording as the Pocket PC 2002 OS allows. All recordings are created in .wav format so you
can play them on your desktop as well. You can choose from different playback modes to repeat the
recording if you like. I also like the ability to turn off the display when recording or during
playback. I can do this with my iPaq while listening to MP3s by pressing the button at the top of the
display, but it is even easier if the application does it automatically for me. This will also save
significant battery usage when making long recordings, such as in a class or conference.
Settings page
Selecting recording quality
Across the bottom of the application there are several icons. The first icon allows you to hide the
folders and just show the files. The next icon sets if the records repeat or move down to the next.
The next four icons are used to cut, copy, paste, and delete files. There is also a great help file
loaded on your Pocket PC in case you ever forget how to do something.
Tap and hold options
Help file
On the top half of the display you will see a window that displays the file status, including the
name, quality of the recording, whether it is in stereo or mono, whether it is recording or playing,
and the length of the file. Below this window is a slider bar you can use to move around the
recording. Over to the right is a slider bar for the volume. There are buttons for recording, moving
to beginning, playing, pausing, stopping, and moving to the end. Below the buttons is the window to
the explorer for choosing the path to store or listen to recordings.
There are only a couple of minor issues I have found with this new program. There is no way to
create a new folder from within the program in case you want to make separate folders for different
conferences, classes, etc. without going to a file explorer. There is about a 3 second delay after
starting the record function before the recording begins.
Playing an MP3 file
VITO SoundExplorer is an essential application and I wish it was installed on my device when I
purchased it. I never experienced any issues with the application and wish I would have had this a
couple years ago since I would have avoided many frustrations. I love that fact that I can choose
where my recordings are saved and also now having an MP3 player without Windows Media Player. If you
ever use your voice recording function on your Pocket PC, then you should at least try VITO
SoundExplorer. They have released a couple of updates with the program already and have plans to add
an equalizer and other functions so check their site regularly for updates.
Availability
You can purchase SoundExplorer from PocketGear for $19.95. VITO also has
a great customer loyalty offer until May 31st
that gives you a discount on all their titles if you buy one title. There is a 14-day free trial that
you can test out before purchasing.
Giveaway Contest
VITO has been generous enough to offer two copies of SoundExplorer to our faithful readers. The first two comment posters have won their copies. Thanks for reading the review everyone. |
