Olympus DS7000 Product Review Leave a comment

Manufactured by Olympus, and directly replacing the popular DS5000, the Olympus DS7000 is at the top end of professional-orinated digital voice recorders.  Aimed at the professional market place, the device accommodates for the more demanding digital dictation requirements such as workflow integration, encryption and recording quality. The shipped package comes complete with a docking station, for the purpose downloading recording and recharging the handset, and a fully licenced version of the ODMS Software.

Olympus DS7000 Features

• Slider recording controls
• Larger Colour LCD screen
• Pin number based device security
• 128/256-bit encryption
• New Lithium Battery
• Easy access function buttons
• Shipped with a 2GB SD card (Upto 32GB)
• Onboard Speaker (300Mw)

Looks

Very similar to the DS-5000, the DS7000 looks very smart in black. With a much larger full colour LCD screen and intuitive button layout it really ticks the boxes.

Controls

A 4-position slide switch is a fantastic addition, as is the inclusion of the incremental rewind feature not seen in lower end models. Simple down to rewind and backup to insert makes amending dictation a breeze.

Sound Quality

Replacing the good but background sensitive DS5000 version, the newly designed microphone provides impeccable recording quality and is now truly voice recognition friendly, which clearly has been a primary objective from Olympus. The microphone is completely isolated, limiting the interference from user button presses etc. Various recording modes allow for higher quality files, though the higher quality QP mode takes up more space on the device.

Screen

Recording modes have their own respective colour changes, which is a very good idea to aid the user. The increased screen size though is more for looks than accommodating new functions as it would appear to display the same information as the DS5000

Security

128/256 bit encryption and device passwords provide for peace of mind for those concerned with the handling of confidential /regulated data.

Workflow and Integration

Shipped with the Olympus Dictation Management System (ODMS) software, the Olympus DS7000 and software combined can be used as a stand-alone solution for sending dictations via email to a third party for transcription or equally used in a networked office environment for instant transfer to the typing pool. With support of Dragon’s voice recognition software; speech-to-text is a real option for those who wish to eliminate some of the overheads of manual typing. With plenty of features such as choice of audio codecs, indexing, multiple work-types and multi-user support; the Olympus DS7000 is adaptable enough to be part of any IT environment

Multiple “Destination” folders can help keep things in order. Furthermore separate routing rules post download can be applied, meaning dictation can automatically sent to separate destinations by the users changing the respective folder on the device.

Build Quality

Olympus are true to form on build quality as the handset feels typically robust and durable.

Power Switch relocation

A marked improvement on its predecessor, the power button is now accessible in the dock and is no longer prone to accidental switching on/off.

Batteries

A new lithium battery replaces the previous NiMH version; however on the downside, use of disposable AAA batteries is no longer possible.