Lychee 8GB Voice Recorder USB Rechargeable Dictaphone LCD Recorder with Multifunctional Digital Audio and MP3 Player (Gray)

I got this as I travel overseas a lot to interview people and needed something small and reliable. This recorder is fantastic and comes with all necessary accessories that you may need. My only issues (and there're very small) is that the instruction manual is tiny, so unless you have perfect eyesight, you may have to scan and enlarge it which is what I did. The manual text has been translated from Chinese, so some of the phrases are a bit awkward to understand from first reading, but you'll get the jist of it after some practice with the machine. A nice touch would have been to include a pouch/carry case - but for the price this machine is amazing!

The plastics feel a bit fragile but the performance and functions exceeded my expectations. It's so light and small that can be in your chest pocket, and there the built-in mic are sensitive enough to record the voices near you. It's very intuitive to use, so you don't have to bother with the misspellings found on it's poorly translated instructions manual. The built-in speaker is outstandingly powerful and is particularly handy on the field, to have a quick feedback of the quality of the recording. The accessories includes are more than enough (I won't ever need the phone connection).

Instruction leaflet was unclear

This was a great present for my autistic grandson, I planned on him listening to short stories we had recorded. In fact he loved recording everything then listening back laughing uncontrollably. He thinks it’s great, laughing non stop.I’d definitely recommend this

Voice quality is really bad when using audio input cable. At first, I thought it was my audio source that was generating noise. However, now I have tested it with different sources and they all result in a lot of noise being recorded. I also tested my audio sources with another similar voice recorder and saw no problem. So, it is definitely this model that is causing problems! What's more, while testing with different audio sources, I discovered that it forces some of them to shut down! One audio source I used simply shut down when I tried to record it with this recorder. This means this recorder could be short-circuiting and it could damage whatever audio device you are using to send the input. Again, another audio recorder similar to this one had no problem with that audio source or vise versa.

So I got this to record my lectures, so I could use the voice recordings to supplement my revision. The packaging it comes in is pretty nice. Robust and compact, kinda reminds me of the packaging an iPhone might come in. It hooks up fine with a computer, just throw the USB in and it pops up in a manner not too dissimilar from your standard memory stick/thumb drive/you get the point. The item worked okay, did pick up a lot of background noise over the voice of the lecturers though (if you're gonna get this one, I suggest putting it on a desk at the front of room!) and the audio quality is a little fuzzy.Then, it broke. Completely out of the blue. I recorded a meeting I had with one of my professors, and it corrupted the audio file for some reason. So I wiped the disk, and tried a couple of test recordings. Nothing. The screen displayed a message saying "Over Record", and yet when I tried to play anything back it displayed "Empty Disk". So the little turd is on its way back to Amazon now, and I've opted to grab a different recorder to make sure I stay on top of my work (Yulass 8GB if you're wondering). In my honest opinion, spend a little more, and get something a bit better quality. The build of the item is kinda tacky (thin plastic, you can actually seen into the device), and MAY of its own accord, decide to clock out and go join grandma in the sky.

Having read through other reviews, I understand that other customers may require different features or a better quality product but the spectrum of voice recorders and price range is large and the Lychee voice recorder represents excellent value for money in my opinion. I brought the product to use for recording meetings of varying lengths, then to upload the file to my computer for transcription or as an aid to memory. I have significant difficulty with memory, organisation and writing reports, making things stressful in the workplace and this has helped me greatly. I also like that the product is small and portable, plus I can place it discreetly on a meeting table without drawing attention to myself.

Great little device but a very small screen.