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1278 Review
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Review on πŸŽ™οΈ Enhanced Philips Voice Tracer DVT2710 with Advanced Speech Recognition Software by Aaron Collins

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Great device with some important limitations

Most of the 1-star goes to those who want to blame Philips for their own reluctance to read product descriptions. One gives 1 star because he/she assumed it would work on a Mac (note the huge FOR WINDOWS font on the CD pictured). And then the support team works with them to see what they can do to get the Mac version. No comments. These counterproductive "ratings" are far from uncommon for Revain, but I thought they were worth considering as it skews the average. Excellent sound; The device has a quality feel (switches, ports), handy on/off button and great software if you know what you're getting - this is NOT the Dragon version which allows you to dictate documents, control windows etc . It simply decodes what has been recorded by the device and/or other audio language files. This is the Recorder Edition (Version 13.00.000.526). The device is a great size for pocket use and has plenty of controls and settings (more on that later). You'll have to do some digging to get to the controls, though. Ergonomics is its weakest point (and why it's not 5 stars). The device's menu button seems to have been designed to be a pleasure for users. Below the button with the folder icon is engraved the word "MENU" in approximately 4-point font in the same color as the device. And then you need to know that it requires a "long press" to function as a menu button. Its main purpose is folder management: an absurd design decision. And you need to download the PDF manual; nothing is included (aside from the quick start guide, which is utterly useless unless you can find the on/off button, there is no information critical to actually using the device). A micro SD slot is also welcome, as is a 3.5mm microphone input. The color LCD screen has a decent resolution as it is large compared to the size of the device. Dual microphone performance is excellent, finding typical placement on top of the device, symmetrically left and right. Overall this is a great device. I just wish the Human Factors developers knew what they were doing and at least included enough manuals to use the device without having to download it.

Pros
  • It's fantastic
Cons
  • Some bugs