Sony ICDB600 Digital Voice Recorder

Works great. Currently using it for lecture classes. It picks up every word the instructor says when set on high frequency.

For all those clicking through the 1, 2, and 3 star reviews. There seems to be a few misunderstandings about this product. Let me try to clarify them for those who can't afford the pricier models.

1) Slide the hold button and it will turn off in a few seconds (battery won't die if you turn it off)

2) The notes DO NOT REPEAT 10 TIMES TO ERASE. Click play, hit erase button twice in sequence and it will... ERASE.

3) No where in product description does it state you can transfer to your computer. In fact let me type out what it says directly on the box as well as whats not on the box so to clear up any further confusion:

301 Hrs Long Recording Time Digital Voice Recorder

Selectable Recording Modes:

LP 301hrs

SP 163hrs

HQ 61 hrs

Microphone Jack, Built in Microphone, Headphone Jack,

LCD Display, Menu, Divide, Rec/Rec Pause, Play, Enter,

Stop, Rewind, FFWD, Hold, Volume, Erase.

The unit has a phones out. You run 1/8" stereo out into you line in jack on your PC or laptop. Most computers that are less than 5 yrs old have a 1/8" stereo input for a microphone. Most, also have a pop up that gives you a choice for that input as a mic or a line in. Choose the line in. Use the sound recorder software in Windows or Mac, or download a free music editing program like Audacity.

This is all pretty straight forward. After a few minutes you should have a .wav or and .mp3 that you can email to all your friends.

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This is in response to the previous review. Like other versions of Sony voice recorders, this device is turned off by using the "hold" switch. If you turn it off when not in use, the batteries will last much longer. Also, the erase function isn't that problematic. Just press the erase button a couple of times and it should delete the current recording. I found this item to be really useful given the hundreds of hours recording time available.

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Documentation states there is no on/off. But there is. The switch on the side labeled "hold" does the trick.

Also the instructions for erasing a message, if followed, will result in message being played 10 times before it is erased. (Why anyone would have a need for THAT to occur is beyond me.) But simply pressing the "Erase" button twice in succession while playing the message will erase the message instantly. That approach is undocumented in the instructions.

Thanks to the other posters who provided this information.

This model has no computer software, no USB, etc. to support sound transfer. The only option for transferring these sound files electronically is to use the speaker/audio out jack. (and something such as Windows Sound Recorder and your microphone in jack on the back of your PC). You have to cough up another forty smackers or so to get the model that does provide true support.

It does also have a jack for an for external mike. I found the quality of the recording as well as the volume on playback to be satisfactory.

The product is a wee bit "over-engineered." The basic operation/buttons and the display screens are not as simple as they could be. This is a $30 unit, so I expected and wanted something very basic. It took a bit of reading/plowing through the manual (and reading reviews here on Amazon) to get oriented.

And there is other functional overkill. I didn't need four storage folders (or a way to transfer files between them), an alarm clock (and a way to select a message for the alarm), the ability to go back and splice previous messages, the ability to append recordings to existing messages and other such what not. All that stuff just complicates the device/screens/menus needlessly, imho.

The device ought to auto-power-off when not in use (and is not set to voice-activated-recording, that is) but it doesn't. You have to flip that "Hold" switch.

But it appears that it will do the basic job satisfactorily (subject to the above stated issues) and so I can recommended it.

UPDATE [APRIL, 2011]: I retired these units from service (I had several) and replaced them with the Sony ICD-PX312 Digital Flash Voice Recorder. The primary reason is that the PX312 makes it very easy to save audio files on my hard drive. It has a female A-Mini-USB plug on the side and so I can use my Zip-Linq Retractable USB to A-Mini-USB Cable to connect it to the computer. The PX312 then appears on my computer as a plug-n-play flash drive, no software drivers required. Then I can just copy any audio files off of it and on to my computer. The PX312 stores its audio files in MP3 format, so there are no file conversions involved. Sweet! The price of the PX312 had been dropping as it neared the end of its product cycle, and so they cost me no more than what I paid for the ICD-B600s a few years ago. Now the ICD-B600s will be sold on eBay ... and I've upgraded for about twenty smackers per unit. Double Sweet!! The PX312 has gobs of memory and will even accept an M2 MicroSD card for expansion. Oh, and the "hold" problem is rectified. There is now a hold/on/off switch. I just ignore the hold function entirely. I don't have to deal with the 'erase' issue either, as I can delete files directly when the PX312 is USBed to my computer. Unfortunately, the PX312 is still way too over-engineered with gobs of useless & complicating functions and buttons...that I just ignore.

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I bought my Sony Model ICD-B600 voice recorder today. I found it easy to set up, easy to record on and very easy to play back. The little bugger plays back with plenty of volume. I am going to be using it to record violations as I drive through our HOA on inspections. I'm sure it will be handy for many other things as well.

I'm glad that I checked out the reviews here on Amazon, because the instructions do not tell you to put it on HOLD to save the batteries. The hold button, on the right side, is like an On-Off button.