Gravitational Pull

Belkin’s nifty iPod recorder — finally

Posted on 13 December 2006

Seems like its been since, oh, forever, that I’ve been looking for a voice recorder to attach to my fifth-generation iPod but its only been a year. When last we checked in on the wait in March, there were two contenders: XtremeMac’s MicroMemo (which looked cool but was kind of pricey) and Griffin Technology’s iTalk Pro (which had simplicity and value on its side).

So I happened to be in an Apple store recently and got to see both products up close, or at least as close as possible through all the plastic packaging. I have to say that the MicroMemo looked frail and the detachable microphone made me nervous — too easy to lose. The iTalk looked a lot simpler to operate — plug in, press big red button and that’s it. Both products also have an input jack to connect another mic or a phone line or whatever. Finally, the iTalk was about $50, or $10 less than the MicroMemo. That sealed the deal.

Since coming home from the store and losing its many layers of plastic wrap, the iTalk has been working without a hitch. Plug it in and go. It created a new entry under the “Extras” menu labled “Voice Memos” where all of its recordings are stored on the iPod. Back on the mothership, it created a simple playlist of the same name.