Product Reviews

XtremeMac's MicroMemo, a voice recorder for the iPod with Video, differs from most of its older competitors by connecting to the iPod's dock connector, rather than the headphone jack and remote socket. The remote socket doesn't exist on newer iPods of course, it's widely held that the dock connector provides for significantly better audio transfer in any case.

To take full advantage of the dock connector, the MicroMemo records 16-bit audio at up to 44KHz, putting it on a par with CD-quality audio. The adjustable microphone, which will usually run along the side of the iPod, draws its power from the iPod and connects to the MicroMemo via a 3.5mm jack.

If you

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don't like the supplied microphone you can connect your own, and if you'd rather use a non-phantom mic, you can do that too. By means of a tiny switch, you can switch the MicroMemo input from mic to line and connect any line level input. However, the switch is rather fiddly to use.

When you connect the MicroMemo, the iPod switches to Voice Memo mode, alowing you to record, pause, stop and save recordings. These are then stored as Wav files on the iPod and can be played back and synced with iTunes.

Should you want to check a recording immediately, you can use the MicroMemo's tiny speaker. Push and hold the button on its front and the audio plays back through it. The quality isn't good, but it's audible enough to make sure you've got everything you wanted to record before you finish up.

The quality of the audio recorded on the iPod was excellent in our tests and more than good enough for recording memos, interviews, and even podcasts. Recording quality with a non-phantom mic was even better, which makes it a serious option for professional podcasts. We found the speaker was fiddly to use but that is just a minor point.

If you have an iPod video and are on the lookout for a voice recorder, put the MicroMemo at the top of your list.