.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE CallRec gives your Treo better call recording
.AUTHOR Heather Wardell
.SUMMARY Even though Palm has recently announced the end of the Palm OS, a lot of us still use the devices. We’ll continue to run some Palm OS reviews and stories, at least until more and more people are using the Pre. In this article, Heather Wardell looks at CallRec, which does a fine job of recording calls on your Treo
.OTHER
I keep everything I need to know in my Palm Treo 680, but sometimes I can’t easily type in new information. At those times, I use the voice recorder to store things for later processing. The PDA came with a built-in voice recording program, and it more or less did what I needed. QMobilSoft’s CallRec, though, promises to do so much more.
CallRec works on all Palm OS smartphones (Treo 650/680/700p/755p or Palm Centro smartphone), recording voice memos directly to the required SD card. In addition, the software can record incoming and outgoing phone calls.
.H1 Comparison to the Voice Memo application
Figure A shows Voice Memo on the left and CallRec on the right, both while making a recording. On the surface, the two applications have very similar functionality. CallRec, however, has several distinct advantages.
.FIGPAIR A Voice Memo on the left and CallRec on the right.
The built-in application ends a recording when you leave the Voice Memo application, but CallRec continues recording as I move from application to application, which could be useful if you were looking for a piece of information while making a recording.
In contrast to the Voice Memo’s proprietary format, CallRec stores its recordings as WAV files, which are far easier to use in other applications or to send via email. CallRec also offers a HotSync conduit, something not available in my Treo’s version of the Palm Desktop, although there are issues with this as I discuss below.
Both applications use the Treo’s side button to initiate recording. Voice Memo requires me to hold down the record button for the duration of the recording. Not the world’s biggest annoyance, but inconvenient while driving. CallRec allows me to push the button once and then push it again to end the recording.
Interestingly, the Voice Memo application always cut off the last two seconds or so of my recordings, requiring me to hold the record button a bit longer to ensure I didn’t lose the last word. CallRec doesn’t do this. CallRec’s sound quality is also considerably better.
.H1 Synchronization and encryption
The Palm Desktop that came with my Treo does not show the Voice Memo recordings, so I was happy to see that CallRec offers a HotSync conduit. The recordings still do not appear in the Palm Desktop but can be easily accessed by going to your Palm data folder. It’s not a true conduit, though, as recordings are not deleted from the desktop when they’re erased from the Palm. It’s unfortunate, both because it means unnecessary use of your hard disk space and because it causes a problem with the encryption system.
CallRec has an option to encrypt recordings (by default or for a specific recording) so playback will work only on the handheld which created the recording. This worked perfectly on my Palm.
However, when I encrypted a recording and then synchronized it to my laptop, both the original WAV file and the encrypted file appear on my computer. After further research, I discovered that if you encrypt a recording before it is synchronized, only the encrypted file appears. Deciding at a later date to encrypt a recording, though, will leave the original WAV file in place.
My laptop has a built-in SD card reader, so I would likely read my recordings directly off the card when needed and bypass the conduit. Still, I think the conduit should keep the handheld and desktop in sync.
.H1 Phone call recording
CallRec, as its name implies, can record phone calls. In fact, by default it records both outgoing and incoming calls. The user manual states that Bluetooth headset users will only be able to record one side of the call (yours or the callers, depending on the headset). As I don’t own a headset I couldn’t test this, but I did test the software for regular phone calls and it recorded both sides of the conversation with perfect quality.
I’m not sure of the legal implications of recording calls (which naturally vary across the world), but I do wonder whether having this functionality enabled by default is morally the right way to go. CallRec does flash the Palm’s LED light (if set to do so in the user preferences) while recording, but if you don’t notice that you might not even realize it’s recording your phone calls.
Leaving that aside, it does do an excellent job of recording the calls.
.H1 Overall
CallRec is a great replacement for the default Voice Memo application. Its recordings sound better, are easier to work with, and can be made while using different applications. The conduit does need work, though.
CallRec rates a solid 4.
Even though Palm has recently announced the end of the Palm OS, a lot of us still use the devices. We’ll continue to run some Palm OS reviews and stories, at least until more and more people are using the Pre.
.RATING 4
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Learn more about CallRec at http://www.qmobilsoft.net.
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.BIO
