Covert Watch Voice Recorder
This Covert Watch Voice Recorder has a much more elegant design than a previously advertised model on the OSS
website and has a smarter ‘matt’ coloured black dial and heightened microphone. I wasn’t over impressed with the presentation box the watch is displayed in and this hugely injustices the style and performance of the actual watch.
I have seen a few different types of watch voice recorders but I really like this model, it looks a quality item, feels weighty and solid, and timekeeping is very accurate but above all the important questions must be - does it give a good performance and can the word ‘covert’ be applied to this model? The word ‘covert’ MUST mean exactly that, which sadly is not the case in 99% of most watch voice recorders I have seen before however, this model does have the approval of a covert design given that there are no visual markings to show this watch is anything other than a normal elegant mens wrist watch.
If I must pick holes, the data cable jack socket could be designed a little more discreet but in practical testing I was never challenged or asked about the watch even when it was taken off and placed on the table in full view as I left the room. There are 2 small holes cleverly blended into the watches fascia and each hole gives you an illuminated indication to it’s recording status ie: green light = standby, red light = recording, but the lights can be turned off whenever you choose thus giving no indication of recording taking place. Another great feature is the recording can be paused and resumed discreetly should you need to leave the room for example and without breaking the actual audio file hence a smooth seamless transition when you come to playback.
To start/stop recordings was a simple click of the buttons and the audio file is automatically saved to it’s internal flash memory. OK, so the look, feel and confidence factors are ticked for approval but is the audio quality any good? Well, I can honestly say it is and with the heighened microphone, audio was clearly picked up some 15ft away and playback was incredibly clear. This is probably one of the most sensitive voice recorders out of the complete range and with a 17hr recording time from a single charge, this is also impressive.
To playback the audio files simply connect the device to your computer’s USB port using the supplied data cable and it will be immediately recognised (Windows XP) as a mass storage device. The options to playback the audio files are now available. To back up the claim this device works on Windows Vista PC’s is also true however you do need to go to START MENU/MY COMPUTER, and then double click the REMOVEABLE MASS STORAGE DEVICE to get the same effect.
Once a voice recording had been saved, an automatic folder named ‘Voice’ is visible and inside this folder are your saved audio files. There is really no need to rename this folder as the watches constructive design easily passes off inspection that it could actually be a storage device which is quite handy for hiding those important documents.
This Covert Watch Voice Recorder is available in the highest capacity 2GB version with a recording time of 17 hours before a recharge is needed and is pretty bang on (give or take a few minutes). Charging is as easy as plugging it into your computer where it automatically recharges the internal lithium battery. A green light glows to indicate charging and this goes out once fully charged. On my evaluation I found leaving the Covert Watch Voice Recorder in my PC for just a tad over an hour suitably boosted its internal battery to 100%. Please note, a lithium cell battery is required to power the actual watch’s timekeeping, and this can be done for a few ££’s at you local watch shop.
This is a good solid performer, easy of use and a clever design structure that is one of the better ‘covert’ models avalible. The mechanical operation of this device is just as described - ‘Plug and Play’. There are no drivers or software to install and only a single data cable to connect the device to your computer. Playing back the audio files is done either directly though your computers media player such as Windows Media, RealPlayer or QuickPlayer, or whatever audio software integration you may have installed on your computer.
Summary: This Covert Watch Voice Recorder gets top marks for overall performance, long recording times, ease of use, and superb audio pickup and playback quality. Excellent!
Verdict: 
