Takes 5 seconds to begin recording, Takes 4seconds to stop
Overall this is a very nice product. It very much disguises as a watch, and no one will ever know you are recording them, if you decide to mid conversation (I use for work, where there are super-fast, detail-important conversations happening around me at any given moment).
The nature of this product, makes me want to give 5stars, because really it has been game changer for me. Really beats me having to pull out my phone to pretend I'm looking at a super important text message mid conversation. This watch has a lot of memory (8MB worth), so could potentially record for a few days non-stop. The watch is pretty comfortable.
With Android, its fairly easy to upload .mp3 files directly from the watch to the phone (bypassing the computer step)
And lastly, the audio quality is really quite decent. It seems to capture sound from a 30ft distance away pretty well.
By FAR, the biggest pro to this watch is that when you initially begin recording, only the time screen pops up. (Unlike most other recorders that once recording begins, the count-up timer displays to ensure you're recording). You can start recording and truly, just pretend like you are simply checking the time.
However the drawbacks:
1. By far the biggest drawback is the speed at which you can start recording. For starters, there is only one button. Why? Seems this was a design flaw.
For everyone's information, the watch's idle position is OFF. If you aren't recording AND haven't turned the watch on in a while, the screen is black. So if you simply want to check the time and NOT start recording, you have to hold down the one button for 2 full seconds. Then the screen turns on. Then you can check the time.... Then you have 5 seconds to decide if you want to start recording while the time is being shown. If not the watch turns off, and you are back to square 1. If you want to start recording, turn the watch back on by holding for 2 seconds. Then once on, single press the button to start recording. Now a little blue dot will appear in the upper left corner of the screen with the time-of-day front in center (example: 08:51 THU 30 for 8:51am in the morning Thurs May 30 (the month does not display). AND for the duration that you are recording, indeed the time-of-day will be displayed. While you are recording, if you want to check how long you've been recording, press the button once to see the count-up timer to see how long you've been recording for. Press the button once to return to the watch (time) screen. Certainly if you are about to step into a meeting you can spare 5 seconds to hold the button on your watch, and another 4 seconds to stop, then this is fine....
However, if your purpose is to be to able to record quickly on the drop of a hat, then this watch falls short. Why are there not 3 buttons? Or even 4 buttons, which would have added more functionality, in the way of start, stop pause?
So here are my complaints about the watch:
1. Can't access the time-of-day screen with one button press (I understand they are trying to save energy by having the watch normally off) - this makes it look a little weird when you have to hold down your watch for 2-3 seconds just to be able to check the time. I tell people "Oh its just a watch with a super long battery, so it tries to conserve by turning off)"
2. Takes way too long to start the recording and pretty long to stop the recording.
3. The watch is not waterproof - Tech Support described it as your cell phone.... You can be out in the rain for a little bit, but you definitely wouldn't take your cell phone into the shower with you.
4. The recording functions are only Start/Stop.... There is no Pause function which would have been REALLY NICE.
5. Setting up the correct time on this watch was a little cumbersome, but maybe just perhaps my work computer would not allow the time update to be installed on the watch, is my guess.
So overall, this watch is great. I was planning to spend $1,000 on a custom programmer watch which would have given me all the functions I desire above, however, for only $150, this watch almost gives me everything I need. Truly if you have a moment to begin recording and a moment to stop recording, then this watch will be perfect for you. But just know that if you get invited to a pool party, you may need to remove the watch, beforehand, because you will destroy the watch if someone pushes you in.
5 stars for this genre of product. 3 Stars for how this watch was designed.
Overall 4 stars.
