Best Way to Record a Voice Memo (i.e., "Thought") While Running?

October 20, 2015 6:09 AM

I've always wanted an easy way to capture a thought while working out. I just tried Samsung's newest SmartWatch for a few days, and it actually worked pretty well for that, but falls short in terms of battery life and overall value (e.g., stopwatch app isn't really usable for running). Would appreciate suggestions for a more affordable solution.

Other option I'm aware of is "Kapture"--a kickstarter device that seems perpetually a month or two from shipping (so I'm wary). And it also isn't a great value. Casio used to have a watch designed just for this purpose (stopwatch with a dedicated "Record" button), but out of production...

posted by Jon44 to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

I use Google Now for this kind of thing. Depends on which phone you have, but on my Nexus 5 I unlock the phone and say "Ok Google" pause for a moment and say "Remind me when I get home to look up something I just thought of" or "Ok Google ... At 9am tomorrow remind me to read up on this important thing."

If you just want a voice recorder, Smart Voice Recorder for Android is solid.

I assume you have an Android phone since you said you used a Samsung watch.
posted by gregr at 7:07 AM on October 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, but I have a large phone and prefer not to be carrying it while running.
posted by Jon44 at 7:30 AM on October 20, 2015

I hear you on the large phone; I normally use a Nexus 7 instead of a phone. I got a Moto G just for running. $80 CAD used about a year ago. You may be able to find a cheap, small phone that would be cheaper than a voice recording watch. There's certainly cheaper Android phones than the Moto G - I've heard good things about Blu, but you probably won't find anything like that used/cheap local. You can setup this phone under a different Id if you want, there's no reason to lock it to make the recording that much faster to start.
posted by nobeagle at 8:46 AM on October 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: @nobeagle

cool idea. Moto G is attractive for this application because it's got some water-proofness, but I just check Walmart for "Blu" phone and it's $62. Seems like a good solution for a running and hiking device, and one could loose or break five of them before reaching the price of a smart watch...
posted by Jon44 at 9:40 AM on October 20, 2015

An actual digital voice recorder? Since it sounds like you won't be recording a lot of stuff, maybe something small like this.
posted by AppleTurnover at 3:19 PM on October 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: You know, a small recording device is great--but ideally, I was hoping for something that would be easy to operate while actually running (without having to carry it).
I guess waiting for Samsung's smart watch to get better apps (if it just had something to view Google Tasks, it'd be worth the money) is my best option. (You just double tap a button to start recording and then it transfers voice file to your phone when it's back in range--all pretty cool).
Wish there was still a Casio watch dedicated to this purpose, as I sense I'm not alone in having ideas I want to capture while working out...
posted by Jon44 at 5:50 AM on October 21, 2015