Top Digital Voice Recorders Under $100

Digital Voice Recorders That Record & Upload

I love the features for the price that this Sony digital voice recorder provides. First, of course, file transfer to your computer via USB cable. You have to have that. But also long recording time (up to 280 hours) and large memory (built-in 1 GB) for the price. Additional features that you don't often find on digital recorders that cost less than $100 such as Overwrite that allow you to edit your original recording and search features such as Cue and Review. And this digital voice recorder has the ability to record in MP3 format. It even includes Digital Voice Editing Software and a voice email function. All in all, a hard package to beat.

It pushes the envelope in terms of the price guidelines I've set for this article, but the additional features you get for the money make it a must include for this list. Besides 1 GB of memory which will store up to 287 hours of voice-quality audio in LP mode, a direct USB connection, meaning you just plug the digital voice recorder directly into your computer, and being PC and Mac compatible, you also get Voice Operated Recording, MP3 stereo recording, noise cut for clear speech recording, and selectable microphone sensitivity, just to name some of the extras. The Sony ICD-UX71 Digital Voice Recorder is also compatible with Dragon NaturallySpeaking software.

The WS-500M's main selling feature is its 2G of internal memory, meaning that "it can store up to 500 songs and listen to them in impressive stereo sound" according to its advertising. Having that much memory also means, though, that you could use this digital voice recorder to record, store and transfer an impressive amount of sound files such as meetings, personal thoughts or lectures – and then easily transfer them to your PC as this Olympus digital voice recorder has one of my favourite features, one-step USB transfer. (The digital voice recorder plugs directly into the PC so you don't need a USB cable.) All that memory also gives you a whole lot of potential recording time – about 544 hours in this case in Long Play mode.

This Olympus digital voice recorder is a real bargain; for about $50.00 USD you get a digital voice recorder that you can use to upload files directly to your PC (through a USB cable). You also get a choice of three recording modes, (standard playback, long playback or high quality) and voice activation, a feature that extends recording time by recording only when the microphone senses sound. The Olympus VN-52000PC has a maximum recording time of 221 hours in long playback mode. What doesn't it have? An MP3 player, superior sound quality and a host of recording and editing features you only get with pricier digital recorders.

The feature I really like about this Olympus digital voice recorder is the ease of file uploads; all you have to do is plug the digital voice recorder directly into your PC – no USB cable required. If you like point and click cameras, you'll like this digital voice recorder as it's designed for people to record and upload with no fuss. You don’t get any fancy features (except for a Voice Activation setting) but then, there's not a lot to have to figure out either, is there? The Olympus WS-400S digital voice recorder offers three recording modes, 1GB of internal memory and 272 hours of recording time.