Recording time of low-middle market phone?

Suppose I get a phone that was basic but not rock bottom (i.e. not in
the bottom 20% of the market). It must be able to record meetings.


Very roughly, how much memory could I expect to get?

Approximately how many hours of recording time as a "meeting recorder"
would I get?

On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 22:17:57 +0100, Jaxx wrote:

> Suppose I get a phone that was basic but not rock bottom (i.e. not in
> the bottom 20% of the market). It must be able to record meetings.
>
>
> Very roughly, how much memory could I expect to get?
>
> Approximately how many hours of recording time as a "meeting recorder"
> would I get?

I've never used my phone to do such things but low end phones usually come
with only a few MB of built-in memory so that'd probably be a little short.
Even high end phone usually have only a few dozens of MB of built-in memory
although that might be enough for just voice recording depending on the
format in which the recording is made.

What'd need ideally would be a phone with a memory expansion slot so that
you can get yourself a memory card of whatever capacity you need (up to 2GB
depending on the card's format). It would also allow you to use a memory
card reader to transfer your recordings to your PC (much faster than
transfering them via the phone's cable or bluetooth). It's more a mid-range
phone feature tough. If you go the memory card way, choose a phone that
accept card of a widespread format such as SD, mini SD or MMC mobile. Avoid
less common formats such as Memory Stick Duo (used in SE phones) as the
cards are much more expensive (that's if the phone doesn't already come
with a memory card of enough capacity for you of course). Also make sure
that the expansion slot is hot-swappable if you want to be able to take the
card out to transfer its data to your PC via a memory card reader.

And of course check that the phone can record for an unlimited duration.
Some phone only allow you to record voice memo of a duration of 1 minute or
so.

On 07 Jul 2006, Mehdi<vioccc@REMOVEME.gmail.com> wrote:

> On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 22:17:57 +0100, Jaxx wrote:
>
>> Suppose I get a phone that was basic but not rock bottom (i.e. not
>> in the bottom 20% of the market). It must be able to record
>> meetings.
>>
>>
>> Very roughly, how much memory could I expect to get?
>>
>> Approximately how many hours of recording time as a "meeting
>> recorder" would I get?
>
> I've never used my phone to do such things but low end phones
> usually come with only a few MB of built-in memory so that'd
> probably be a little short. Even high end phone usually have only a
> few dozens of MB of built-in memory although that might be enough
> for just voice recording depending on the format in which the
> recording is made.
>
> What'd need ideally would be a phone with a memory expansion slot
> so that you can get yourself a memory card of whatever capacity you
> need (up to 2GB depending on the card's format). It would also
> allow you to use a memory card reader to transfer your recordings
> to your PC (much faster than transfering them via the phone's cable
> or bluetooth). It's more a mid-range phone feature tough. If you go
> the memory card way, choose a phone that accept card of a
> widespread format such as SD, mini SD or MMC mobile. Avoid less
> common formats such as Memory Stick Duo (used in SE phones) as the
> cards are much more expensive (that's if the phone doesn't already
> come with a memory card of enough capacity for you of course). Also
> make sure that the expansion slot is hot-swappable if you want to
> be able to take the card out to transfer its data to your PC via a
> memory card reader.
>
> And of course check that the phone can record for an unlimited
> duration. Some phone only allow you to record voice memo of a
> duration of 1 minute or so.
>

Thanks for the info. Seems pretty disappointing state of affairs with
using a phone as a meeting voice recorder. Many of those tiny MP3
players have a mic and can record for ages. Can't be long before all
phones are the same. My 512MB MP3 player cost only £15 and that
includes a display, so it can't cost much to include in a cellphone.