Ahhhh, the “smartphone,” not much bigger than my palm, but able to obliterate my confidence in a millisecond! For instance recently I decided it would be advantageous to have a voice recorder with which to record ideas. Like so many other folks, I seem to be highly inspired and creative right before sleep takes over—ideas buzzing around like hummingbirds across the dark sky of my closed eyes. Two nights ago I had a stimulating idea for an essay, and even “wrote” the first few paragraphs in my head. Over and over again I tried to burn the concept into my psyche for morning access--to no avail. The idea disintegrated in my sleep. I also get copious notions as the water hits my skin in the shower or bath, or immediately out of the shower—another occasion when a pen and paper won’t help.
So I decided to keep a device with voice recording nearby. In case you’ve been under the same rock I’ve been under here’s a fact: no one owns digital recorders or the archaic tape recorder anymore. Tape, unless you are wrapping a gift or painting, has nothing to do with audio these days. And if you own a smartphone (I capitulated last June—a nightmare experience for a different posting), you can—with the download of an app—make it into a voice recorder.
My first order of business was to determine whether I already had a voice recording app loaded onto my Droid 4. I wonder how many folks like me, operating with only the most fundamental technical skills, are aware of what apps reside on their smartphone. I have viewed my app widgets (why aren’t they called icons?) a number of times wondering what in fact they do, but with my limited 3G or less area connection, I often can’t even load them. Someday reception will be restored to my exurban tract and I’ll be able to read those Kindle books and find my nearest Thai restaurant—but that day remains in the future. A tour of my app widgets revealed Google Maps, some golf and football games I will NEVER use, (but which Verizon has informed me cannot be removed from the phone), a handy calendar and task app, but no voice recorder.
I simply Google'd “best voice recorder app for android” and got a plethora of hits. I wanted a free app, so that narrowed it down—essentially to Easy Voice Recorder and Smart Voice Recorder. As a side note, there are dozens of Bloggers, all half my age or younger, who give great reviews on the whys and wherefores of voice recording. One can download an app to easily record a telephone conversation (my next task), one can record music or concerts or use the feature for more complex endeavors, but I’m only recording my voice and ideas, so I went simple and again FREE. Lifehacker has a nice, brief summary that did not include the options I could find on my Android Play Store app (an app to find an app—don’t you just love it?), and Technobuzz really gives you the lowdown on why certain options work and for what reason.
After reading about options, I went to my PlayStore and when only Easy Voice and Smart Voice appeared as free options, I went with Easy Voice as it had a half a star higher rating. I then simply selected, downloaded and waited for Easy Voice Recorder to install. I then moved the widget onto my homepage, and voila! I tested it, and it worked just fine. It's a basic platform, not pretty or providing lots of options, but it should serve it's purpose.
Then I went to sleep two nights in a row with my smartphone happily downstairs. So now I’m waiting for the smartphone to become a bonafide droid and follow me up the stairs when I turn in for the night!
My first order of business was to determine whether I already had a voice recording app loaded onto my Droid 4. I wonder how many folks like me, operating with only the most fundamental technical skills, are aware of what apps reside on their smartphone. I have viewed my app widgets (why aren’t they called icons?) a number of times wondering what in fact they do, but with my limited 3G or less area connection, I often can’t even load them. Someday reception will be restored to my exurban tract and I’ll be able to read those Kindle books and find my nearest Thai restaurant—but that day remains in the future. A tour of my app widgets revealed Google Maps, some golf and football games I will NEVER use, (but which Verizon has informed me cannot be removed from the phone), a handy calendar and task app, but no voice recorder.
I simply Google'd “best voice recorder app for android” and got a plethora of hits. I wanted a free app, so that narrowed it down—essentially to Easy Voice Recorder and Smart Voice Recorder. As a side note, there are dozens of Bloggers, all half my age or younger, who give great reviews on the whys and wherefores of voice recording. One can download an app to easily record a telephone conversation (my next task), one can record music or concerts or use the feature for more complex endeavors, but I’m only recording my voice and ideas, so I went simple and again FREE. Lifehacker has a nice, brief summary that did not include the options I could find on my Android Play Store app (an app to find an app—don’t you just love it?), and Technobuzz really gives you the lowdown on why certain options work and for what reason.
After reading about options, I went to my PlayStore and when only Easy Voice and Smart Voice appeared as free options, I went with Easy Voice as it had a half a star higher rating. I then simply selected, downloaded and waited for Easy Voice Recorder to install. I then moved the widget onto my homepage, and voila! I tested it, and it worked just fine. It's a basic platform, not pretty or providing lots of options, but it should serve it's purpose.
Then I went to sleep two nights in a row with my smartphone happily downstairs. So now I’m waiting for the smartphone to become a bonafide droid and follow me up the stairs when I turn in for the night!
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