Olympus W-10 Review - Pros/Cons
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So let’s get back to those two birds we were after.
The voice recorder part:
Overall, the unit provides a very satisfying quality of recording. All music samples were done at a 6—10 foot range and voice samples were recorded from a 3 foot distance. Note that 180 minutes is way out of proportion, for the simple fact that no one in their right mind is going to record at an 8KHZ sampling rate (just listen to the sample). SP mode give you a justifiable quality, but you have to be closer to the unit to get better results.
The unit is extremely easy to use with one-button operations, and the learning curve is next to zero. Battery life is plentiful and 2 AAA cells hold up really well. It would be nice to have a microphone jack for a chance to increase the recording quality with an external mike. The display lacks a backlight, and the LP setting is a marketing tool for suckers so that Olympus can advertise 3 hours of recording time.
The camera part:
The unit is small in design and is lighter than most cell phones. That means I’d rather drag this around for simple pictures than my wireless. The quality of pictures compares very nicely to the ones taken on my LG 6000; they look the same, if not better. The ability to shoot while taping is a plus. Flash would be a nice addition, but it would drain batteries and probably distort the sound while taping if you plan to take pictures with it when recording sound.
Overall combination:
Pros
- Small, lightweight
- Easy to use
- Good audible recording quality
- Easy to use software
- Fair quality pictures compared to other 640x480 devices
- Alarm clock feature
- Comes with headphones and a case
Cons
- No backlight
- Out-of-proportion recording time advertised (on LP)
- Not expandable (flash media)
- No belt clip even on the case
- Can not be used as an external USB storage device
- No microphone jack
To sum it up, I think that Olympus accomplished exactly what they set out to do with this unit – attract a consumer who is looking for a cheap simple solution that will let them take notes while snapping occasional pictures when on a trip. It is also done without sacrificing the quality of either part of the unit, and the cost is more than fair.
I don’t see this unit being used by students a lot, for the fact that 45 minutes of recording time isn’t a lot, unless you want to settle for a lower quality file. The ideal consumers are a note-taker who travels, or a journalist/reporter at live events and games. The latter will have more use out of the camera than anyone else, since the idea is to take pictures while commenting on an event.
Even though Olympus has cut a few corners with this piece, the overall quality is still up to par with the rest of their products. No wonder they have been dominating the market for personal recorders for decades. If you aren’t looking for a device that is going to be your recorder for the rest of you life (e.g. 11 hour recording time and expandable media storage), you will be very pleased with this unit.
Thank you for taking the time to read our review on the OLYMPUS W-10 voice recorder/digital camera. Feel free to comment on the story and don’t forget to drop by our hardware forum as well.
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