To smartphone or not....buy a digital recorder????
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[www.amazon.com]
I bought this one and it does it all. Easy to hide and you don't really have to use a microphone. It picks up everything even when in a pocket or other places. It also shows the timings.
I love it.
I bought this one and it does it all. Easy to hide and you don't really have to use a microphone. It picks up everything even when in a pocket or other places. It also shows the timings.
I love it.
I tend to be old fashioned. If you want to record, buy a recorder. If you want to take pictures, buy a camera, etc. In my opinion, when you start asking one device to do multiple jobs, there will be compromises along the way.
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Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)
"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)
"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei
I received a smart phone earlier this year. Never wanted one. Now I can't live without one. Definitely has paid for the data plan many times over. Record audio for detail recollection, dictate details while "talking on phone" making the rounds inside shops, "texting" descriptions while waiting in line, check email from the road for timely offers from schedulers, catch the release of a new round of favorite shops, forgot paperwork and pull it up to save the route, GPS directions, accept an offer 50 miles from home for a shop that's 3 miles from where I am and be able to drive to the location where I pull up the instructions and get it done at thrice the price...
No going back.
No going back.
elcarev68, what kind of smartphone do you have?
mnarteach,
FYI: No need to worry about data plans, you can get pre paid smartphones and they are very popular.
Speaking of smartphones, has anybody seen those free smartphone shops lately???
Many Thanks
FYI: No need to worry about data plans, you can get pre paid smartphones and they are very popular.
Speaking of smartphones, has anybody seen those free smartphone shops lately???
Many Thanks
I own a recorder and have an iPhone. I find that I can walk into any shop with iTalk running and hold my car keys and my phone in my hand, recording throughout the shop. just make sure your lock screen has activated so you don't accidentally turn iTalk off. I rarely use the DVR recorder unless I am recording a phone call. Just make sure that you are not in a state that requires two party consent.
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"We are all worms. But I believe that I am a glow-worm."
- Winston Churchill
“Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon.”
- Paul Brandt
"We are all worms. But I believe that I am a glow-worm."
- Winston Churchill
“Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon.”
- Paul Brandt
Although my smartphone will record, it is much too easy to accidentally hit the "pause" icon and lose much of the interaction. Besides, holding the phone through a complex interaction, where I might need to use my hands, for instance, is a total non-starter.
The Panasonic digital voice recorder that I use has a "lock" feature which make such errors really very hard to do. So, it's the dvr for me!. I love that I can plug it into the computer's usb port and get exact timings for all events right off the timer on the recording.
The Panasonic digital voice recorder that I use has a "lock" feature which make such errors really very hard to do. So, it's the dvr for me!. I love that I can plug it into the computer's usb port and get exact timings for all events right off the timer on the recording.
Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel
Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
I have been using the voice memos on my IPhone to record shops. The only problem is if you get a call, it turns off. Never heard of ITalk, but I'll check it out. I don't use my phone for pictures, though. I'm not good with taking clear pictures with it and I like to have the date stamped on the pictures, which I can do with my camera. I love my IPhone and couldn't live without a smart phone now. My daughter got a Samsung Galaxy. It has a bigger screen, so I think I'd love to have one. I'll wait until they're cheaper though.
As far as the smartphone shops go. I did one and I hate the phone. I got the one they will reimburse for and I can't figure out how to use the internet or set up my email. One of the shops was to go to the store and ask the clerk to set up the email, and she couldn't do it. (LOL). Now when I tried to set it up, it says "no email". I'll have to do a shop where the person knows what they're doing. I'm using the new phone number on shops where I have to give a phone number since I'll never use this phone. I would have bought an IPhone but they cost more than twice the reimbursement.
As far as the smartphone shops go. I did one and I hate the phone. I got the one they will reimburse for and I can't figure out how to use the internet or set up my email. One of the shops was to go to the store and ask the clerk to set up the email, and she couldn't do it. (LOL). Now when I tried to set it up, it says "no email". I'll have to do a shop where the person knows what they're doing. I'm using the new phone number on shops where I have to give a phone number since I'll never use this phone. I would have bought an IPhone but they cost more than twice the reimbursement.
My Sony's like yours. I accidentally turned it off once and I won't tell you where I put it that caused the problem. I now used the HOLD button and it's great. It charges from my computer and I can get it to play on my computer as well. Sometimes, I use my earphones depending on how I'm feeling.
walesmaven Wrote:
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> Although my smartphone will record, it is much too
> easy to accidentally hit the "pause" icon and lose
> much of the interaction. Besides, holding the
> phone through a complex interaction, where I might
> need to use my hands, for instance, is a total
> non-starter.
>
> The Panasonic digital voice recorder that I use
> has a "lock" feature which make such errors really
> very hard to do. So, it's the dvr for me!. I
> love that I can plug it into the computer's usb
> port and get exact timings for all events right
> off the timer on the recording.
walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Although my smartphone will record, it is much too
> easy to accidentally hit the "pause" icon and lose
> much of the interaction. Besides, holding the
> phone through a complex interaction, where I might
> need to use my hands, for instance, is a total
> non-starter.
>
> The Panasonic digital voice recorder that I use
> has a "lock" feature which make such errors really
> very hard to do. So, it's the dvr for me!. I
> love that I can plug it into the computer's usb
> port and get exact timings for all events right
> off the timer on the recording.
elcarev68 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I received a smart phone earlier this year. Never
> wanted one. Now I can't live without one.
> Definitely has paid for the data plan many times
> over.
I'm with you. Before I had one, I bought a digital recorder, which for me, was not a good experience. I have a Droid and downloaded two free voice recorder programs, one of which I only use to help with shops where I need to capture the clock time to the second (not just time seconds). When I need to assess the amount of time, I will generally pull up this online stopwatch program: [www.online-stopwatch.com] as I play back. Another thing I love is that you can hold your phone in your hand and no one will ever know you're recording.
-------------------------------------------------------
> I received a smart phone earlier this year. Never
> wanted one. Now I can't live without one.
> Definitely has paid for the data plan many times
> over.
I'm with you. Before I had one, I bought a digital recorder, which for me, was not a good experience. I have a Droid and downloaded two free voice recorder programs, one of which I only use to help with shops where I need to capture the clock time to the second (not just time seconds). When I need to assess the amount of time, I will generally pull up this online stopwatch program: [www.online-stopwatch.com] as I play back. Another thing I love is that you can hold your phone in your hand and no one will ever know you're recording.
I really did not want to buy a smartphone and put it off as long as I could. Now I would not know what to do without it. I have an iPhone 5 and now use the camera exclusively. I use the recording function instead of digital recorder and I take all my notes on it. I also use the stopwatch function for timing. I couldn't get by without it. It is my one-stop item for all my mystery shopping. I hate having to pay for the plan but at least it's tax deductible for me as I only use my phone for mystery shopping.
You can do EVERYTHING on a smart phone. Cannot live without one. You also will have the tools you need in case something comes up. My phone has saved me more than once.
Bite the bullet and change your life!!!
Bite the bullet and change your life!!!
I'm a firm believer in having multi-taskers whenever possible. I have an audio recorder and a digital camera and the phone ends up doing most of the work. I don't have to hold it during interactions. The sound quality is very good when it is in my jeans pocket. I just put it in airplane mode and lock the screen. There are also a lot of cloud services to sync photos with your computers automatically or you can take the traditional route and connect the phone to your computer. Honestly, for the multitude of ways a smart phone can help you in this business, you really should consider one. It saves me printing costs, serves as my GPS, allows me to check and respond to e-mail almost immediately, the list goes on and on.
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
This one is top notch if you decide to go this route: [www.amazon.com]
I use it for journalistic purposes. You could put it in your pocket, side pocket of your purse and it will still hear everything (and I mean everything).
My smartphone is pretty new on the market but compared to other phones in the past I've used, it doesn't have the audio recording app built in so make sure whatever smartphone you have or plan to buy has the app. I am sure there are downloadable apps as well
I use it for journalistic purposes. You could put it in your pocket, side pocket of your purse and it will still hear everything (and I mean everything).
My smartphone is pretty new on the market but compared to other phones in the past I've used, it doesn't have the audio recording app built in so make sure whatever smartphone you have or plan to buy has the app. I am sure there are downloadable apps as well
Silver Certified ~ Shopping all of Toronto and beyond
Warning: This User Has Been Banned or Is No Longer Active
I too was very reluctant to get a smartphone. What changed this was I took a seasonal job at an isolated resort area in Utah and the only carriers that worked out there were AT&T and Verizon, and I have friends with Verizon who told me Verizon is expensive but worth it. So I broke down and bought a Pantec Marauder, which is an entry level smart phone that does 4G speeds and now I would not want to go back to living without one either.
I have not used the digital recording part yet.....What I like is having e-mail access while I am on the go and also I am loving a few apps that pay you, such as Checkpoints and Shopkick and Jingit as I have mentioned before. Today I was out and about around town and scored 200 checkpoints and 165 Shopkick points.....working my way towards a nice big giftcard with Shopkicks and a Kindle for free with Checkpoints. But I digress. I could not do this without the smartphone. I also am liking the mobile banking app my credit union has.....I have only scratched the surface of what my smartphone can do like I said, there is no going back now.
I have not used the digital recording part yet.....What I like is having e-mail access while I am on the go and also I am loving a few apps that pay you, such as Checkpoints and Shopkick and Jingit as I have mentioned before. Today I was out and about around town and scored 200 checkpoints and 165 Shopkick points.....working my way towards a nice big giftcard with Shopkicks and a Kindle for free with Checkpoints. But I digress. I could not do this without the smartphone. I also am liking the mobile banking app my credit union has.....I have only scratched the surface of what my smartphone can do like I said, there is no going back now.
I use the Olympus DP-201 voice recorder. I wear it in an inside pocket and it picks up conversations through my shirt. It has a hold switch so it won't accidently turn it off while i'm recording. It has an LCD screen that shows elapsed time during playback. Records for 200 hours and batteries last for 80 hours. I like that it automatically creates a new folder each day and organizes recordings by date. It's easy to to find the second shop I did Tuesday, for instance. It was only $22.69 at Walmart, with a 5% rebate from my Discover card.
dixiewhiskey Wrote:
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>
> My smartphone is pretty new on the market but
> compared to other phones in the past I've used, it
> doesn't have the audio recording app built in so
> make sure whatever smartphone you have or plan to
> buy has the app. I am sure there are downloadable
> apps as well
Neither of the smartphones I've purchased had a built-in app. All recording applications I've downloaded have been freeware, no issues at all.
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> My smartphone is pretty new on the market but
> compared to other phones in the past I've used, it
> doesn't have the audio recording app built in so
> make sure whatever smartphone you have or plan to
> buy has the app. I am sure there are downloadable
> apps as well
Neither of the smartphones I've purchased had a built-in app. All recording applications I've downloaded have been freeware, no issues at all.
You can do EVERYTHING on a smart phone. Cannot live without one. You also will have the tools you need in case something comes up. My phone has saved me more than once.
Bite the bullet and change your life!!!
Bite the bullet and change your life!!!
Does anyone have a recommendation for an iPhone app that will continue to record when a call is placed for a phone shop? There seem to be several that work well for regular voice recording, but I'm having a hard time finding one that doesn't stop when I go to make the call.
I have had an Iphone since 2007 and I am now using an Iphone 5. I used to take on the road: computer, camera, GPS, recorder, printer. Now I take my Iphone. I still have a Garmin, Ipad, recorder, computer and camera. I use my phone for everything and it is an excellent back up for dead camera batteries, awkward locations where using a computer is not convenient, and I call pull up job info and enter shops on the road. It backs up the Garmin when it decides to take a break, I time shops and record everything. I am looking forward to going completely paperless some day for audits and reveal shops. I would love to show a letter of authoriation off my phone screen and not have to print it out. It would be great to send winning reveal shops to an email instead of printing the paper.
If I ever felt conspicuous in the past, no problem these days, most people are carrying phones or using them in every type of situation. I will admit that I feel naked without my phone and it is the first thing I reach for when I am leaving the house, even before collecting my car keys.
If I ever felt conspicuous in the past, no problem these days, most people are carrying phones or using them in every type of situation. I will admit that I feel naked without my phone and it is the first thing I reach for when I am leaving the house, even before collecting my car keys.
Thanks for the advice about turning your iPhone on Airplane Mode so the recordings won't be interrupted by phone calls. I didn't realize calls stopped recordings. That's great to know.
Having a smartphone really is worth it, especially since it helps you make money.
Having a smartphone really is worth it, especially since it helps you make money.
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