Device maker Philips has launched a voice recorder that is said to be an upgrade to the basic ones that journalists use.
The Philips SpeechAir was developed by Speech Processing Solutions – Philips’s Austria-based subsidiary which focuses on dictation products – and is aimed at legal and medical professionals.
At first glance, it could be easily mistaken for a smartphone. Unlike most digital voice recorders, it comes with a 480 x 800 pixel IPS touchscreen which supports over 16 million colors. This is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass and a rugged, antimicrobial housing. It even has a 5 megapixel rear camera, which can also be used to read barcodes. The gadget’s case includes physical buttons, a slider, and an oversized microphone grille to support its primary function.
It runs a heavily-customized version of Android 4.4.2. Powering the device is a dual-core Cortex A9 CPU, which comes clocked at 1.6 GHz. It also boasts 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.
The press release makes no mention of Google or the Play Store, so it looks like you won’t be playing Angry Birds on your voice recorder.
The SpeechAir also includes three different microphones, each suited for different tasks. In addition to the usual 360º microphone, used for recording meetings, it also includes a directional microphone for speech recognition, and a MEMS microphone for making VOIP calls.
The package includes headphones, data and power cables, an international power supply, and a desktop docking station.
Perhaps the biggest coup-de-grace of the Philips SpeechAir is its software. Not only does it automatically protect recordings with 256-bit AES encryption, but it can also be remotely administered.
Philips have even released an SDK to allow developers to write applications for it.
Of course, this functionality goes far above-and-beyond what the majority of voice recorders offer, and will undoubtedly come with a significant price tag, although Philips haven’t listed any pricing information themselves.
If you want to get one, you’ll have to get it from one of Philips’s local retail partners.
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Source: Android Police