Evistr Portable Black 8GB Digital Audio Voice Recorder, MP3 Music Player, Dictaphone,Multifunctional Rechargeable Dictaphone Player with Built-In Speaker

This review is for the Evistr Portable Black 8GB Digital Voice Recorder. (Sometimes Amazon lumps reviews of different models together, so it's good to be specific about which model is being reviewed).I picked up this unit to use while driving - sometimes I'll have an idea or need to remember a chore and it's handy to have a recorder available. The smartphone I have does record, but the interface requires attention that cannot be spared while driving. Jotting down a note on pencil and paper also requires too much concentration when behind the wheel. What I wanted was a simple recorder that could easily be manipulated by one hand without much thought. (I have an Olympus unit that fits the bill admirably but it is on loan to a college student and it's return date is questionable).The Evistr arrived well packed and on time (I needed it within one day and Amazon got it to me in time at a reasonable cost. Thanks Amazon shipping crew!).The manual that comes with the unit is reportedly written in English; I'll take them at their word, but I certainly couldn't swear to it just by perusing the documentation. I've not seen anything this poorly written by a commercial firm since the early sixties. It is decipherable, but in reality one shouldn't have to spend a whole lot of time trying to figure out what the writer intended to say in technical manuals.The unit comes with several bits and pieces - earphones, a telephone jack and cable, a microphone, and a micro USB cable used for charging the units' internal battery and transferring files from the recorder to a computer.The system time and date were well off (over two years); setting was relatively simple once the instructions in the woebegone manual were deciphered.The sliding power switch is on the lower right side of the unit and is difficult to slide using one hand. This is a bit of a downstroke for me, because one handed operations are required for my purposes. However, since the lithium battery lasts quite a while (21 hours recording, 8 hours playback according to the paperwork) I figure to just power it up and leave it on during the highway trips.Recording, which is vital to me, is easily handled by pressing the red "record" button which is large enough to press by feel, as are the "stop" and "play" buttons. That saves the day for me, for it's a simple matter to press the "record" button on the previously powered up machine and then press "stop" without actually looking at the recorder. One does not need the external microphone plugged in to record, there is a (good enough) built in microphone.The volume key is a "rocker" switch and works easily and well.There is a small hole in the top of the gadget that allows one to insert a string for hanging the device - oddly enough no string is included.Distracted driving is, of course, dangerous and I'm not recommending others record while driving. YMMV.One negative note - there is about a 5 second delay between pressing "Record" and the time when the machine actually starts recording; when making a quick verbal note of an idea or to-do list the delay is not the greatest "feature" to have. I can work around it, but it's vexatious.The playback is "good enough" for voice; I can't comment on long time MP3 playbacks since I have no intention of using it for that purpose.Connection to Windows 10 computers is a snap - simply plug in the USB cable and the machine starts charging and shows up in File Explorer as a USB drive. I've tried on two different machines (a Lenovo laptop and a PowerSpec desktop) and had no issues.EDIT: I was able to test the connection to a Samsung Chromebook and the USB connection charged the recorder as did the Windows 10 machines and the files on the recorder were visible in the "Files" app. It took about 20 seconds for the Chromebook to recognize the device, first wanting to 'format it' (which I ignored) and a few moments later the device was shown as 'available'.Charging time from "depleted" to "full" is reportedly four hours.Considering its price point and that it fulfills the minimum requirements I have of such a unit I'm giving it four stars. A better on/off switch arrangement would be appreciated along with a well written manual and a "no delay" record start time. I have an Olympus digital recorder which is of a better design and feels more "solid" than the Evistr, but it cost considerably more and when rating products the price point must be considered.For the money, I like this unit. YMMV.HTHRegards,Jim

this is the worst voice recorder i have ever used.Most of the time using this the record button doesn't work and sometimes after you press the record button it takes 10 seconds so if you start talking you would lose 10 second of recording before it actually started.The one good option about this product is that you can listen to music it says it only has 8gb of storage but i was able to download 100 songs onto it. on the first use it broke so i had to buy another the microphone popped out after buying another one the whole thing fell apart.i would not reccomend this product to anyone.If you can buy a better quality voice recorder not this one

When this first arrived, I was really pleased with it. The recorder charges relatively quickly and the battery lasts a really long time. I made a few test recordings and the sound quality was clear. I used it to record a family event just over an hour long and it worked perfectly.I recently took it to an all-day training class I attended. I checked on it periodically, and it recorded the entire day. When I went to download the file, it had corrupted. Something like seven hours of recording just vanished. POOF!So here's the final tabulation:ease of use ............ 4 starssound quality .......... 4 starssize / portability ...... 5 starsbattery life .............. 5 starsreliability .............. -16 stars----------------------------------------------final score .............. 2 stars

This thing is tiny. About 2.5 inches long. Around an inch wide and less than 1/2 inch thick. Instructions are not very good - I suspect google translate, but if you play with it you will figure out how it works. Sound seems very clear. It has some very useful features, like it's ability to connect to a computer to transfer files. I have knocked off one star as the build quality seems a little plasticky.

There is no way that we could find to attach this to anything to down like ad the recording. Could totally be us. But we have up and returned it.

havent used it alot but so far it works great and is fairly easy to use.

Hard to navigate vague directions included in the package. Has an automatic shut off with the longest amount of time being 2 hours. Wasn't worth the headache so I returned it.

Gets the job done. It's very basic but it does what I need it to. Light weight and easy to slip in your pocket. It sounds pretty clear for a cheap recorder.