Phone-Accessories Reviews

I owned the belkin voice recorder then somehow lost it and then I saw ads for the iTalk. Since I owned the iTrip and was happy with it, I thought this was a blessing in disguise. I'm a college student and record my lectures, for the most part the Belkin voice recorder worked well but the iTalk claimed to have auto gain control etc. I'm buying another Belkin. I've recorder a week of lectures already and not a single one has come out with the iTalk. I know it's not the lecture halls because the Belkin voice recorder worked just fine. I don't know where to even begin about how bad the iTalk has worked so far. All my lectures sound like the beach. I cannot hear any voices at all. Just hours and hours of horrible background noise. It obviously does not work for lectures as claimed. Go with Belkin for once

this 50 dollar (after taxes s/h etc...) piece of cheap garbage is a big waist of money. distorts even if just recording your own voice talking. griffen advertises that you can use this product to record song ideas. tried that. all i hear is a muffled distorted version of what i played. the sounds quality is horrible. i get better quality recordings on my pocked pc's built in mic. bottom line.... DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM!!! you will feel ripped off... i certainly do. i'd give the iTalk negative stars if i could.

I bought the iTalk to take memos when I'm out in the field. Camera in one had, iPod in the other. I read the reviews first so knew it would be risky but it sounded ok for my uses and I got it cheap.

* Files are about 1 minute per Mb, stored as wav.
* Sound quality is understandable but not as good as AM radio.
* For a fully charged iPod, I got about 90 mins recording before the battery showed empty.

Pros

* Recording works fine, and I can dictate captions for photos as I think of them on site. Typically these are 1-2 minutes at most. I have also made an hour-long recording as a test without problems. I tried recording conversation in a cafe but it picks up too much background to be understandable.
* The best feature for photo memos is that files are time stamped, so I copy each memo to the same folder as my photos (which are also time stamped) making them easy to match up.
* iTalk can take an external mike which cuts out background white noise.
* Files are automatically sync'd to iTunes Voice Memo list and stored in the iTunes unknown artist folder. (If you have this feature set in iTunes)

Cons

* Software glitches randomly lock up the iPod under almost every condition except for the initial condition (more about this below).
* The iTalk covers the iPod lock. This is a serious design flaw given how quickly the battery drains. It means that you can't carry the iTalk connected to the iPod and easily lock the keys.
* The line that takes a mic also doubles as a line out. If headphones are connected and you try to record, the recording light shows but nothing is recorded. It creates a file but it's empty.

Hints

Prevent freezing: If the iTalk is in place when the iPod is turned on, it will often freeze. To prevent freezing, remove the iTalk before turning on the iPod every time. Under these conditions I've never had it freeze. If the iPod does sleep, to prevent freezing, remove the iTalk then insert it again (i'm not sure how often this is necessary, but I haven't had to reset the iPod since the first day).

Reset: To reset the iPod, remove the iTalk and hold down the iPod's MENU and PLAY '>||' buttons for 10 sec. I used this 5x the first day with the iTalk but haven't needed it since.

Locking: Slide a laminated card (my credit card is too thick) between the iPod and iTalk to lock, or carry the iTalk separately (annoying, but not as annoying as rebooting every time).

Saving: It's not enough to pause a recording, you need to remember to stop and save it before removing the iTalk. The MENU button will also save files.

Finding the files on PC: I have iTunes set to automatically sync files. To find the files in iTunes, look under the Voice Memos list. It's a trifle disconcerting when they disappear from one list and appear elsewhere unless you're prepared for it. On my PC, they can also be copied from
iTunes music/unknown artist/unknown album

Battery: I tried letting the battery run out while recording. It ran for ~50 minutes while the battery was showing empty then shut down with no warning. The file appears to have been saved ok.

Battery life: Check out the apple web page for battery tips (...) (I know this comment is outside the scope of iTalk, but if you use a voice recorder with the iPod, you're going to be dealing with battery issues.)

Summary

Despite the glitches, I like having a handy memo system and will keep it til something better turns up. Doesn't sound like Belkin is any better in terms of software glitches or battery life, but it looks like it would be possible to lock the iPod with the Belkin in place which would be a plus. The minus is that Belkin doesn't take an external mic.

wtf I reviewed this you want me to make 2 reviews

they hurt like a mother f**ker. The sound sucks ass. they blow out like cheap car speckers.F**k you sony I want my money back. The sound is just like flying insects annoying as hell!. Cheap plastic dose not feel good in your ears. who ever came up with this should stick this up their ass and see how it f**king feels.

they're okay for $14 headphones, i guess. they're not that comfortable, but sound quality is nice.

You've simply got to be kidding me. Monster Cable for a telephone line? This is, quite simply, one of the more ridiculous products to come down the pike. Monster used to be a reliable brand name, and I use thier interconnects for my home theater system, but it seems like they'll put their name on any crap these days.

Caveat Emptor - you do NOT need this product.

Monster Cable is best known for its high-end stereo and video cables, with equally high-end prices. There are those who say that these expensive cables can make all the difference to a high-end audio/video system; there are others who say that they make no difference whatsoever.

But when it comes to telephone cable, there is simply no room for that sort of debate. Spending $20 for a ten-foot length of telephone cable is simply ludicrous, and Monster Cable loses a great deal of credibility in my eyes for even offering the product.

The telephone signal going to your modem has in all likelihood travelled down thousands of feet of cables, and a maze of telephone company switching equipment, before it reaches that jack in your wall. That journey has caused signal loss and distortion. Unless your current modem cable is physically damaged in some way, there is simply no way that those ten feet of modem cable will make a significant difference.

And if you're still inclined to disagree, consider this: What about the cable running through your house's walls, connecting the phone company's junction box to your wall jack? It's almost certainly not made out of any special high-tech materials; it's probably whatever brand the contractor could find on sale when he or she wired your house. And it's almost certainly much longer than your modem cable, meaning that its capability to cause distortion and signal loss is much greater. If you're not going to rip that cable out of your wall--and you wouldn't, because that would be foolish and silly--then why on Earth would you spend so much money on the last ten feet of cable that happens to stick outside the wall?

If the quality of your phone connections is bad, then you may need a better modem; or you may need to call the phone company in to inspect the lines and make any needed repairs. But replacing a working modem cable with a SuperCable simply isn't going to make a difference.

If you do need a new phone cable, then go down to your local Target or similar store, and buy a basic cable there; use the money you'll save for high-end stereo cables if you feel so inclined, since there's at least a chance that money spent there will actually have an impact.

Although this is a pricey cable, its construction and materials are of very high quality. The cable jacket is thick, flexible rubber and there are rubber anti-snag strain-relief boots. This is a good item to travel with since it's very supple and won't kink, in addition to being tough and able to stand the abuse of frequent travel.

When I received this as a gift, I thought this would really be boon since I spend a great deal of time discussing business with my clients and need to be able to use my keyboard at the same time. Due to static, connection problems(to the phone itself) and uncomfortableness, within 30 days the thing had become useless.

This works, but the earpiece is too big and falls out of my ear! The earpiece (speaker) cover fell off and is now missing. The part that connects to the phone doesn't stay connected. One side falls out and I can hear the person on the other end, but they can't hear me. Sometimes, I get a high-pitched squeal when I have the headset plugged in. When I remove it, the squeal goes away. I had high hopes for this because I use my phone a lot and have serious concerns about radiation exposure, but this item left me very disappointed.

This is an example of what you pay for, is what you get.

In less than a month this thing fell apart and no longer worked. I was somewhat impressed by it when I got it, because it did the job flawlessly! I suggest going for a headset though or something that wont slide out of your ear.

im big on sony so i thought at the price these would be the best. well they have no bass and highs arnt very good. after wearing them for a while they start to hurt your ear. Dont get these!

These are the worst headphones I have ever bought. Sony has done it again, too expensive and very awkward to wear. Do not waste your hard earned money on them.

the sounds on these headphones is tight, but the open-air design lets other noise in, and also lets everyone around you hear what you're listening too. the biggest problem w/ these is that they do not stay put on your ear. you cannot go work out w/ them or even move around too quickly w/o having to readjust them. i would reccommend passing on these and checking out some of the other headphones sony is making.

As the other reviewer said this is *not* an ethernet/phone combo.
It is just a retractable phone cable and I would have never paid
$20 (after shipping) for it had I known that.

Although this item is advertised as an ethernet/phone combo device, it is not. It is simply a retractable phone cord with an RJ-11 (phone)connector. It performs just fine in this capacity, but look elsewhere if you want to purchase an "all in one" gizmo. This won't do it for you as there is no way to use this baby to get on your LAN

My sister and I bought this product. It has good bass, sound, etc. But after a few weeks one of the phones just stopped emitting sound.

First, the speakers hurt my ears (they clamp to your head tightly) and another thing, after two weeks of using it, it stopped emiting sound. :-( However the sound quality is wonderful, full bass, etc.

The provided software, required to use the camera, kept freezing on my WinXP system. I tried installing the camera on my wife's Mac G4 since it's supposed to be compatible with OSX - it would not work with the software I downloaded from Logitech (no Mac software is provided for Mac on in the included CD). I tried the alternate QuickCam software for Windows on Logitech's website (no explanation on differences between this and what is provided on the CD). Instructions on use of the camera and software are pathetic. The program help covers many models besides the one purchased and have to read through to find out how 'your' model functions. The 'hood' on the camera is flimsy and kept falling off. I was able to get an image using Windows built-in camera software - image was okay in ambient room lighting, but is poor in low light. I emailed Logitech about the software problem and answer in 2 days was to uninstall and reinstall which I had already done without success. I did not get a clear explanation of the differences between the two types of software provided other than QuickCam would not work with instand messaging services. I was not able to use this camera for any of the reasons I bought it and I returned it to Amazon.

Warning: This product has fixed optics. Although you can "Zoom In" from a window in Net Meeting, all it does is blow up the image. As a result, you can not get fine resolution with Zoomed-In images. I feel this is border-line misrepresentation of a product because the box indicates that the camera module itself is a zoom camera. If you don't want zoom, it's a fine camera.

Wireless functionality for Palm is still a hit-and-miss game (at least with the MIK and Palm Vx). You may or may not have much success in getting the connectivity you seek, depending on the vagaries of your ISP, your wireless phone, and the actual site you're trying to connect to. My recommendation is to wait another year or two before pursuing this. By the way, Palm itself provides almost no support for this product.

I Purchased this item hoping that it would allow me to get both home and work E-mail (using Psion 56k Travel modem). The modem works great, but ...

The feature set list is misleading. It states that one can access POP3 "accounts". Bun in reality one can only access one account with the MultiMailPro 2.26 provided in MIK. Also, upgrades are not allowed on this version of MultiMailPro. One must make a new purchase to get the useful version 3.x.

The upgrade to OS 3.5 is nice, but also does not have very many enhancements.

I didn't try the web-clipping or mobile phone applications. But if they're like the mail app, then you should plan on being disappointed.

So in my opinion, the MIK IS a waste of money.

P.S. I temporarily solved my E-mail problems with a freeware package called ProxiMail, which gets your E-mail from up to five accounts. It puts the E-mail into the mail application in ROM. But the bulit-in mail application also has many limits. The developer's of ProxiMail have gone out of business, but if you look hard it can still be found on the web.

I liked the combo phone/alarm/cd but found the product to be the worst quality of any home electronics I have ever purchased. Both the original and the replacement lost keypad functionality within a month of use making it impossible to dial out. Also both phones slowly lost all contrast on the caller id lcd so that you couldn't make out any display after a couple of months.

Almost sure to break within a few weeks of light use.

I ordered this phone/clock radio and while the electronics seemed to work fine, the phone was dead and would never produce a dial tone, no matter what I changed or did.

I have had this machine since early 2000. Everything works great when you read the instructions thoroughly. Great sound, nice alarm features such as wakeup to radio, CD, and buzzer. You can set all three alarms. When you turn off the alarm in the morning you do not have to worry about turning the alarm for the next day, as it will remember your settings. However, the problem with the phone not being able to dial out at times is a legitimate complaint. I called the manufacturer and they provided three tips that have worked but all are temporary fixes. If the phone stops working such as not being able to dial out or the caller id display is locked, first replace the 9 volt battery that is used for powering the features on the handset. Generally, this will fix the problem. If this does not fix the problem, the phone may also have been affected by a surge. Just unplug the cord that goes from the handset to the base of the phone and leave it disconnected for an hour or more. This should reset the handset. However, their may be ongoing problems where you may have too many phones on a phone line through out your house. Each phone has a REN (Ring Equivalence Number) on it. This phone shows 1.3 and is displayed on the black sticker on the handset. If the other phones simply stop working, check the total REN (Ring Equivalence Number) value of all the devices sharing your phone line. The total REN value on any one phone line should not exceed 4. If it does, some phones may not ring or even work at all, and computer modems will tend to drop the line or not connect properly. Most normal phones and computer modems have a REN of 1. If your other phones or PC modem is one of several devices on the same line and you have trouble, try removing one or more phones. Long extension phone cables can also cause similar problems and should only be used if absolutely necessary. The REN value is usually displayed on a sticker on the underside of the phone (eg, REN=1). With the phone annoyace I would have rated the phone 1 star if I didn't have the manufacturer's tips. If your phone does not have the problem, I would rate it a 5. Since I was able to use the tips with my phone problems, I rate it 3 stars.