MUMBAI: Olympus, the world's number one manufacturer of portable digital voice recorders and professional dictation devices, has launched a new WS Series of audio recorders offering cutting-edge innovation and impressive storage capabilities. The WS Series, comprised of the WS-801, WS-802 and WS-803 models, all feature two internal directional microphones to help capture pristine sound, direct USB connection, noise cancellation and calendar search functions. The WS-802 and WS-803 boast even newer features, including voice playback, voice balancer and a voice changer feature.

"The WS Series gives users professional stereo sound quality at a price that appeals to the masses," said Amy Leslie, Sr. Marketing & Business Development Manager, Olympus Imaging America Inc. "Whether you're at work, school or play, WS Series digital audio recorders are perfect for capturing important class notes, storing critical business files or listening to your favorite artists at the gym."

NEW AND IMPROVED

The hallmark of Olympus audio recorders has always been superior sound quality, and the WS Series continues that tradition. A key feature in the WS Series is two internal directional condenser microphones engineered to capture sound at a wide range of decibel levels. With the newly-developed high-sensitivity, low-noise directional microphones, Olympus has achieved the best ever quality in sound recording for this series.

WS-802 and WS-803 models also feature voice playback, voice balancer, file move, voice changer, noise cancellation and calendar search features. The newly-developed Voice Playback features allows you to skip the non-voice portions of a recording and only playback the parts with recorded voices, making for more seamless playback and easier to transcribe files. The Noise Cancellation feature helps eliminate unwanted sounds such as constant background noises. Voice balancer adjusts voice levels to compensate for distance. This is perfect for interviews where one's voice might drown out others based on where the recorder is located. Voice Changer allows users to alter the pitch of a voice. The Calendar Search feature makes it easier to find audio files by organizing them according to recording date. File Move allows users to transfer files from internal memory to external SD cards.

The WS-803 has additional features entirely of its own. Users will be able to listen to - and record - radio through a built-in FM tuner. WS-803 users can also choose between two recording level options - Auto and Manual. In the Manual option, the sound level is set through commands on the menu screen.

All of these features are clearly displayed on a 1.43-inch backlit LCD screen.

BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

Bottom line - the WS Series offers more for its customer's dollar. The WS-801 has 2GB of internal memory with 514 hours of recording time, while the WS-802 doubles those figures, offering users 4 GB of internal memory and 1,016 hours of recording time. The premium model of the WS Series, the WS-803, features 8 GB of internal memory and 2,043 hours of recording time. In addition to internal storage, all models have a microSD card slot with the potential to hold up to 32GB of additional memory.

Another key attribute of the new WS Series is that they offer multiple recording formats and playback features. They all have the ability to record in MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) format, and the WS-802 and WS-803 models record in PCM format as well.

AVAILABILITY WS-801, WS-802 and WS-803 digital audio devices will be available in March 2012. The WS-801 will include AAA alkaline battery; WS-802 will include AAA Ni-MH rechargeable battery and stereo earphones. The WS-803 will include AAA Ni-MH battery, stereo earphones and case and USB cable. All models will come with an instruction manual and warranty card.