Review on Olympus Digital Dm 720 Voice Recorder by Ryan Frawley

This is the fourth Olympus digital voice recorder I've bought and it just keeps getting better. I still have and use an older DM 520 but wanted a DM 720 as a backup. After using the DM 720, the older one became the backup. The new DM 720 is lighter than its predecessor, the DM 520; It has a simpler and more efficient design, is easier and more convenient to use, and uses only one AAA battery instead of two. My guess is that it only requires one battery instead of two due to device technology improvements that require less power to operate. In fact, this device is still like a miniature recording studio, and it only gets better with time. The DM 720 comes with a built-in USB plug, which can be a bit awkward to use as it's hard to see on the tiny screen when connected to a PC. But when connected to a PC, it doubles as a battery charger and makes it easy to manage files and transfer them back and forth from the PC. Olympus should have provided a USB adapter cable AND a power supply, but we can forgive them for these omissions as the device is truly a marvel of engineering and design. There are only two main areas available for storing content on the DM 720, namely the recording area and the music area. In the recording area, the usual 5 (AE) areas for external audio recordings are saved, with a maximum of 200 files per letter. The device has not two, but three built-in microphones, with the usual high sound quality and a wealth of functions. As you would expect, the music section handles all audio content superbly. I have several audio books and when I transferred them and other personal recordings to the device, the 4 GB of internal storage quickly filled up. I then bought a 32GB micro SD card (which fits into a slot in the battery compartment) to store all of the books as well as any future books I buy and all of my music. The user manual states that the micro SD card needs to be formatted, but it accepts audio files and recordings out of the box without such formatting. Apparently the DM 720 isn't compatible with Audible Books (owned by Revain), which is disappointing. That flaw aside, it's still a beautiful, versatile and powerful little device that is well worthy of your attention and purchase.