Multimedia World
June 1994

NEWS

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

POCKET-SIZE PERSONAL RECORDER

With a new credit-card-size device from Norris Communications, you can digitally record a half-hour of speech, and skip in a heartbeat from one recording to the next. And this new hand-held recorder can interface to your PC for storage and editing of digital audio files.

The $199 Flashback pocket recorder may cause the death of minicassette analog tape recorders. Now those of us who like to dictate a fast memo to ourselves while on the road, outdoors, or in the shower (the Flashback is water-resistant) can use a personal digital recorder. This device simply captures audio, compresses it with Norris's SoundClip technology, and stores it in the card. The built-in 1MB of nonvolatile flash memory means the Flashback can be dropped, subjected to magnetic fields, and so on, without loss of data. It lets you enjoy the random access of digital media rather than waiting for a tape to fast-forward: By placing a marking before each new recording, you can skip during playback from one message to the next instantaneously. You can even record more dictation into an existing message.

The Flashback has a built-in microprocessor, and it sports a simple two-button control panel. An LED indicates when it's

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