Let’s face it. When I am in class, especially after lunch, I tend to fall asleep during the lecture. As I’m away in dreamland, I fail to take any notes and end up in a jam when it comes to test time. VITO Audio Notes alleviates this problem by allowing me to record the lecture. In my case, I type my notes (assuming I’m not asleep) in conjunction to recording an audio copy of the lecture whenever possible. This program is simple to use and was designed with the user in mind. It is perfect for recording virtually anything.

But, hold on, it’s more than just for recording notes. This program can also record telephone calls if your device is a WM5 Smartphone. It is perfect for those times when you need to record verbal agreements or  phone conversations.

Installation and Registration:

Installation is simple and can done via the downloaded ActiveSync installer or the over-the-air CAB file.

In order to activate VITO Audio Notes, an internet connection is needed to perform:

1. A direct activation – Just enter the purchased license code and hit "Activate". This tells the software to phone home and automatically finish the registration procedure.

2. An Email activation – This is the offline activation method where you send a copy of ’Program Files/VITO/AudioNotes/License’send_to_support.txt to VITO support who will in turn send back an activation key (license_1.0.txt) to drop in the same folder (License). Keep a backup of this file in a safe place should one need to reinstall this program.

Overview: VITO AudioNotes allows for the recording of audio in MP3 format allowing long lectures and telephone conversations to be recorded to either a mobile device’s main memory or a removable storage card.

Recording: Recording is fast and simple and can be accomplished with a tap of the "Record" button after starting the program.

Additional Recording Options:

• One can select where to record to (choice of recording to the main memory of the device or an expansion memory card), the quality of the recording, and the file type (MP3 or WAV) by going to "Menu" – "Recording" and making the appropriate selections there.
• One can also select a hard button and replace the WM5 audio note recorder with VITO Audio Notes under "Quick Record" under the "Recording" sub-menu.

This is a comparison of file sizes of recordings for a 10 second file.

When recording notes, it is also great to know that one can pause in the middle of the recording by hitting the "Pause" button or even append a pre-existing recorded note by tap+holding an existing file (see photo below).

Special Features: There are 3 noteworthy special features that make VITO Audio Notes stand out. "Auto Record Calls", "Blank Screen", "VAS" (Voice Activation System) with auto gain control.

Auto Record Calls: This feature allows both outbound and inbound calls to be recorded. Volume on the tested JAQ3 device was not very good, however after copying the file to the computer and playing it back from better speakers, the sound quality was superb. After selecting this option, even if the main VITO Audio Notes application does not appear to be running, if a phone call comes in or is made, the call is still recorded. This program has a nice way of naming files; shown in the picture is the caller ID information along with the date and time of the call.

Blank Screen: Selecting this will cause the mobile device to turn off its screen after a certain amount of time has elapsed after a recording is in progress.

VAS: A very useful tool that sets a recording level threshold. For example, turning on the system, one can select the desired level for sound to be recorded. If the sound is not loud enough to reach the set VAS point, then it is not recorded. This is perfect for situations where background noise can be a problem or to prevent having "dead" spaces in the recording. In the pictures below, note the words VAS right below the time elapsed display. One complaint is the difficulty to tell whether or not VAS is turned on or off. A more visible color for the toggle could be used to improve visibility (see pictures below – left has VAS on, right has VAS off).

A bug with VAS is that it is not a true toggle in the sense of the word. Though one would think that it is a toggle switch, if VAS is toggled off in the middle of a recording, it actually still has VAS activated. The VAS level bar (shown below as a yellow bar) has to be set all the way to the left for VAS to be truly off. I learned this the hard way with a few of my audio notes being only 20 mins long for a 1.5 hour lecture.

The last part of this function is automatic gain control. The Mic. Auto Gain control can be toggled between "low", "medium", and "high" thereby effectively adjusting microphone sensitivity.

Conclusion: I have used VITO Audio Notes for a couple of months, and it has met my needs for recording class notes as well as phone calls. I am very satisfied with this product and would recommend this application as it:

1. Records to MP3 with the ability to select an expansion memory card.
2. Has VAS and microphone gain control.
3. Can blank out the screen.
4. Can record phone calls automatically.

Lastly, the quality of the recording depends on many factors such as environment and microphone quality of the device. One of the things I’m hoping to try is getting a bluetooth microphone headset and getting my teachers to use the headset to increase recording quality.

You can purchase VITO Audio Notes as a bundle with VITO Audio Player for $20 in the JAMM Store (it’s like getting the audio player for free)!

Vital Statistics:

Name: VITO Audio Notes
Version: 1.25
Platform: WM 2003 SE / WM5
Also Available For: SmartPhone
Developer: VITO Technologies
Available From: JAMM Store, PocketGear, Handango, VITO Technologies (PayPal)
Price: $19.95
Trial: Yes – 14 Days
Devices Used for Review: Dell Axim X51v, i-Mate JAQ3

Technorati Tags: VITO Technologies, Audio Notes, V1.25, Review, WM 2003, WM5, SmartPhone, MP3, Recording, Just Another Mobile Monday

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