Wrist watch with voice memo capability!

October 20, 2009 6:12 AM

Can anyone recommend a good wrist watch with voice memo recording capability? I had a great watch the I bought at the Sharper Image (maybe Brookstone?) years back, but it has disappeared into my junk drawer and I'm looking for a similar replacement :)
posted by WhereAmI to technology (6 comments total)

Very closely related question.
posted by idiopath at 6:56 AM on October 20

That above link seems a little too broad for my purposes. I'm looking for someting that straps to my wrist, tells time and can take a few seconds of a voice memo so when I can't write something down or don't have a pen/paper nearby, I can just use what's on my wrist (my watch:). I wear a watch every day so I know I wouldn't forget it (like I would forget a pen/paper).

Any additional suggestions would be welcomed!
posted by WhereAmI at 7:18 AM on October 20

laks.com

I have one of their watches that's an mp3 and a voice recorder

The USB is tucked into the band, so you can just plug it in striaght from the watch.
posted by Zambrano at 8:41 AM on October 20

A lot of cellphones also have this capability. You might have to dig around to find it but then you can probably set it up to be a one button operation. I know that both Blackberry and Nokia do (the Bold and N-series) and I assume the iPhone has a million apps you could use for this purpose too.
posted by HopStopDon'tShop at 8:56 AM on October 20

If you have a cellphone and a separate (free) Google Voice number, you can call that number from your cell and let it ring through to your Google voicemail, then leave yourself a message. If you have the service configured to email you whenever you get a voice message, an email including a link to your recorded memo should go straight to your inbox after you hang up.

Note: I've used this method successfully a couple of times now, and it seems pretty reliable. You should know, however, that I've had a separate but similar feature of Google Voice, incoming call recording, fail to work about one out of eight times I've attempted to use it to record phone interviews for work. For mission-critical interviews, I now make sure to use a landline with a backup voice recorder in addition to hitting record via Google Voice, just in case.

I've never yet lost a Google voicemail message, but then, I also haven't received that many voice messages via the service, period. Long story short, if you're looking to record mission-critical memos this way, the Google Voice method might not be your best bet. But for quick reminders to yourself when you're without pen and paper, I've found it quite handy.

Alternately, if you normally always have your keys on you, might I suggest a TEC PicoPen? I just bought one recently, and I've already used it on a number of occasions—at stoplights, in the store, at the bar—to write down reminders to myself. I turned my coworkers on to it, and the one who ended up buying one came to me yesterday to tell me how invaluable she'd already found it. So that's another possibility.
posted by limeonaire at 11:26 AM on October 20

Appreciate the great suggestions.

LAKS.COM definitely has some awesome watches that do what I'm looking for. Anything more professional looking (i.e., metal watch face and band)?

I found this on amazon, anyone have experience with it (all of the bells and whistles are overkill, I'd just need the watch, not the headphones):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002Q99BUS
posted by WhereAmI at 12:36 PM on October 20