Mini Phone Recorder
For the last seven years, I've used the Mini Recorder Control to document every 'phoner' I've done as a freelance writer. Like the Recorder Control from Radio Shack, it acts as the go-between for a land line headset and any recorder with a 1/8" mic jack. However, this one's about about half the price. Since it's light and compact, mine is always with me in a little pouch stuffed with a notebook, pens and a Griffin iTalk Pro that allows me to record direct to my iPod. Over time, I've upgraded from a desktop dictation machine to a handheld mini-cassette recorder to two different versions of the Griffin. The only item in my "bag of tricks" that hasn't become obsolete or pooped out is the Mini Recorder Control. Interestingly, I found many of my colleagues in journalism school had independently discovered this exact gadget.
-- Steven Leckart
Mini Recorder Control
$16
Available from from Amazon
Also available from Radio Shack
[Recently I've been playing around with a web-based service called RecordMyCalls; you call an 800#, enter your account info and the # you wish to dial, and the call will be recorded and accessible online shortly after; it's $5 a month for 500MB of storage (at $0.20/min. for U.S. calls), but you can also download the file and own it forever; the sound quality is reasonable, so if you need to record in a pinch or from a cell phone or remotely where there's no web access or Skype, this seems like a viable option; I haven't used it enough to write a proper recommendation, but it seems promising; if you have used it OR if you have an even better solution, please let us know. --sl]
Related items previously reviewed in Cool Tools:
Favorite (15)
Gary
grandcentral.com also allows you to record calls placed through their web site or received from your grandcentral number. It's in beta still, though now that it's owned by google it will probably never leave beta. And best of all, it's free both to receive calls from a grandcentral number and to place calls through their website.