Review on Olympus Digital Dm 720 Voice Recorder by Steven Pankey

I bought an Olympus DM-720 to replace my old Olympus WS-802 which is no longer available. I first bought the WS-853 but returned it because it didn't have a screen backlight, an important feature. I then bought the more expensive Olympus DM-720, which has 4GB of internal storage and uses a single AAA battery - just like my old WS-802 - and has the requisite backlit screen. The DM-720 is worth its higher price because it has some very useful new features: two programmable function buttons, voice prompts that provide audible feedback for each function and menu item, three recording stop timers, a center microphone (optionally switchable), an adjustable zoom microphone for directional recording, a screw clip on the back (included) that doubles as a stand, and a speaker mute switch. Audio feedback and stop timer really add to the usefulness of this recorder. Now I can use it to record live radio interviews when I'm away. It records MP3 and Linear PCM (WMA) file formats and has a new feature that allows you to edit PCM files to remove internal segments. Unfortunately, this editing feature isn't available for MP3 files, a feature I'd like to have but have to use a file editor like Audacity instead. MP3 files can be shared, this function is also available on my old WS-802. The basic manual supplied with the recorder is very limited and does not cover most of the recorder's functions. However, the 118-page user manual is available in 12 languages on the internal memory and can also be downloaded from olympusamerica.com. I highly recommend the DM-720 with its many new features.