Sony Digital Voice Recorder

PC Magazine loves Sony's IC Recorder ICD, and for good reason. The thin, sleek-looking digital voice recorder is packed with features that make it well worth the price—and with two models available at prices from $149.95 to $299.95, you're sure to find one that fits both your budget and recording needs.

Sony IC Recorder ICD-BP150VTP

The more affordable Sony digital voice recorder - $149.95 without software and $199.95 with software - starts off with a thin, easy-to-hold shape that can be clipped to shirt pockets or belt loops for hands-free recording. Beyond that, the recorder's two quality recording levels allow for about two to 5.5 hours of recording time, and allows users to convert Sony DVF (digital voice file) files to Sony MSV, Sony ISC, or WAV files. For transcription purposes, the BP150VTP also has a handy looping playback feature to continuously play a small portion of the file until it's been fully transcribed.

Sony IC Recorder ICD-MS515VTP

This Sony offering, $249.95 without software and $299.95 with software, comes with the sweetest of all digital voice recorder accessories - a removable 8MB memory stick that clocks the recorder's memory time from one to about three hours, depending on the recording quality. Add a 128MB memory card, though, and boost this baby's memory capacity to more than 47 hours. As with the other IC Recorder model, this DVR comes with voice-recognition software, and it connects to computers with a USB.