Notta Memo: 30-second review
The Notta Memo is another AI-enhanced voice recorder that enables you to record voice memos, record meetings and calls for the purpose of AI transcription, though not in real time, but almost. The style of design is slim and compact with MagSafe mounting, so it’s easily attachable to the back of your iPhone. For other manufacturer phones, there’s a magnetic ring in the box, so even if you're using an Android , you can still easily connect the Notta Memo neatly in place.
From the outset, the ease of use of the Notta Memo stands out, with a single button press to start and stop recording. A switch on the left side of the screen lets you switch between voice calls on your mobile and recording meetings or voice memos. That combination of a button press and a physical switch on the device itself is a really nice touch, letting you quickly access options without having to delve into an app or on-device screens.
Throughout the review process, I utilised the Notta Memo in lectures, meetings, and during phone calls, and in different situations, from a crowded and noisy classroom, through to phone calls in a busy café and meetings in a far quieter office. Each time, the Notta Memo impressed me. It was able to isolate all speakers nicely and cleanly. Again, what I really came to like was the physical switch on the device, enabling me to quickly switch between recording phone calls and live meetings, making it intuitive and like an integral part of the phone.
The one thing that was a little bit irritating was that, to utilise the Notta Memo, you need to first register the app and the device. You can use the AI offline, and the audio recording feature lets you record phone calls or meetings with a single tap, but for the AI features, the core of what this device is about, registration, is needed.
Whilst you can perform basic functionality such as audio recording, the device needs to be online to access transcription, AI summary, chat, language translation, and app sync and export of your recordings. Essentially, it becomes no more than a dictaphone without the app or internet connection.
One of the other smaller issues that I had with the Notta Memo is that once again, it uses a magnetic proprietary charging and data cable, which means that if you do leave home without that cable, you can't use a MagSafe charger or a more standard USB option to give it a boost in power. But then, because of the device's slim profile, fitting into a USB socket would be slightly counterintuitive.
As it goes, the Notta Memo is definitely a step up from the already-impressive AI-enhanced voice recorders I've seen. It's just a shame that an internet connection is still required even for the most basic of grip processes.
Notta Memo: Price and availability
- How much does it cost? From $149 / £139
- When is it out? Available now
- Where can you get it? Online retailers such as Amazon
At present, the Notta Memo is available for $149 on Amazon.com and £139 at Amazon.co.uk.
- Value: 4 / 5
Notta Memo: Specs
Languages: 58 supported
Microphones: 4 MEMS + 1 bone conduction
Battery: 30 h recording / 28 days standby
Storage: 32 GB
Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Charging: Magnetic cable
Display: Small status screen
Accessories: Leather MagSafe case, ring adapter, charging cable
Notta Memo: Design
The style of these AI-enhanced voice recorders is quite generic, all being about credit card size and ultra-slim so they can easily attach to the back of your mobile phone through some sort of MagSafe connection. For the Notta Memo, it comes in its own leather magnetic wallet, which it neatly slips into before attaching it to the back of your phone.
If, however, you're using an Android phone that doesn't have MagSafe capabilities, the company has included a magnetic ring in the box that simply sticks to the back of your phone or phone case, enabling easy connectivity.
Before starting the Notta Memo, the device needs a good charge, and here a magnetic charger cable is used. This is proprietary to the system and will only fit one way round, but again keeps the sleek, low-profile design of the Notta Memo. You just need to ensure you take it with you, as you won't be able to use any MagSafe or USB-C charger to top it up if it runs out of power, which, from reviewing a few of these devices now, I would personally have preferred.
When it comes to physical size and design, it measures 86.1 x 55.1 x 3.5 mm, essentially the same size as a credit card, just slightly thicker. Weight-wise, and again given the technology it contains, a weight of 28 g is impressive. On top of that, you do have to think about the leather wallet, but it doesn't add much to the unit and does let you easily attach it to the back of your phone, so it's always there, ready to use.
On the device, it’s very simple. On the front, it has a really beautiful, tactile texture, and, of course, it's extremely thin. At the top, there's a small switch that lets you record phone calls or meetings. Next to this is a 1-inch screen that shows which mode you're in, and to the right is the record-on/off button. So again, very minimalistic and simple.
Aside from the design and build's visual and physical features, there are 4 MEMS microphones and 1 bone-conduction microphone built in, which help the Notta Memo capture some of the clearest audio of any AI recording device I've looked at so far.
- Design: 4.5 / 5
Notta Memo: Features
Notta Memo is an AI-enhanced voice recorder that records audio in real time, transcribes it into text, and lets it be saved, interrogated, or summarised in a multitude of formats. This obviously gives you a quicker way to cover meeting notes than traditional data, and you can type simple human questions into the search box after a meeting to ask and clarify what was said. It's an extremely useful tool for anyone in business who often takes phone calls or meetings and needs a transcription to check over later.
Obviously, this in itself is impressive, but the Notta Memo, like many others, goes a step further. It has a companion app with templates to help you create summaries, identify and differentiate between speakers, and create action lists you can utilise later.
These AI voice recorders are improving rapidly, and Notta Memo can transcribe live audio and translate it simultaneously. So if you do find yourself in a multilingual conversation, you can record the audio, translate it almost live, and converse with people in different languages, although you can't just use your Notta Memo alone, and you will need the companion mobile app. While this sounds great, it isn’t quite the live transcription and translation, but it is handy.
That app ties the Notta Memo features together, not only enabling all the advanced AI voice recorder options but also letting you create summaries from a list of templates or export the audio, transcription, or translation so you can send it to other parties.
One of the big features of this AI voice recorder is that it has four highly tuned MEMS microphones, which are very good at picking out the voice from background noise, including busy conversations, even in a crowded café. This means that it picks up not only the vocals but who is talking and is able to differentiate and label voice one and voice two (or more), so once you're looking through the note, you can tell who has said what.
Like many AI voice recorders, there’s a physical switch on the front so that you can switch between the microphone modes. This switches the pickup from being used to pick up people talking in the same room (say, in a meeting), and then, if a call comes through, you can quickly switch to a bone-conduction microphone to pick up the audio from the phone conversation.
The hardware is impressive, though very minimalistic, but it's the app where all the processing happens, enabling real-time transcription and translation, as well as an AI summary and AI chat, so you can ask the app about the conversations you have recorded. These AI features are impressive and, alongside the chat, transcription and translation, there are also 30+ smart templates that you can use to summarise meetings, create sales pitches and far more.
However, it is worth noting that for many advanced features, you will need to pay an additional subscription fee in addition to the device's cost. However, unlike some others, the starter plan is free, offering 300 minutes of AI transcription per month, a good number of reusable AI templates, and AI chat and real-time transcription speaker identification.
- Features: 4 / 5
Notta Memo: Performance
My first introduction to one of these AI recorders was about a year ago, and at the time, the potential was obvious; the ability to record meeting audio that you can then listen back to for reference has been common place for years, but these AI audio recorders take it a step further.
A transcription of what was said by who is only the surface of the abilities, but then the transcription can be formatted so that you can search, summarise and reformat for different purposes. The fact that you can have it as a document or a PDF just adds to its usability. The fact that you can now use a chatbot to discuss and question the meeting transcription afterwards is an invaluable business asset.
From this point of view, the Notta Memo makes a lot of sense. Before I go into how it was to use it, it’s worth pointing out that Notta already has quite a substantial presence in the AI voice recording market, with a standalone app for your mobile phone. So, initially, you might think: why spend almost £200/$200 on a dedicated piece of hardware if you can just get by with your mobile phone?
The simple answer to this is pure convenience. Firstly, having a hardware device with 32 GB of internal storage means you won't fill up your phone's storage with voice recordings. Once you use these AI apps, you realise how useful they are and how quickly they fill up your phone with multiple recordings, especially since a few meetings last only half an hour.
The other point is that with the Notta Memo attached to the back of your phone, it’s always there, ready to use. Whilst it's normally just a quick swipe up on your phone, you still need to launch the app. Here, with the Notta Memo, if you make a call, you simply slide the switch to the call position and press the button. It's all a very natural movement, and you know that you're going to capture everything that was said. Likewise, if you're in a meeting, you can place your phone screen down, tap the button again (making sure the switch is in the right place), and the meeting will be recorded, ready for transcription later.
So really think of the hardware as convenience, firstly for the storage it provides, and then for the quick access to the buttons and of course battery life. It’s just quick and easy to use, making it far more intuitive than digging through your phone for that app. I also found that when I tried to use the app in a meeting, I was always asked what it was and what it would do. Whereas with the piece of hardware on the back doing exactly the same thing, you can simply say it’s a digital recorder, and everyone seems perfectly happy with it, especially when they see the consolidated notes at the end and the easily organised action points that would usually take a while to type up after a meeting has finished.
During the test, I used the Memo in three main areas. The first was during a photography evening class, where I taught black-and-white photography. Whilst the students already had PDF slide notes, additional information often comes up through the night, most importantly, questions about the process of film or print development that arise as the evening progresses. Whilst they do try to make a note of these in a notebook, there are often one or two points that slip through.
But here, with Notta Memo, at the end of the evening, I was able to save the transcription and ask it to pull out a series of Q&As, and it listed them out perfectly. I was able to copy and paste these into an email and send them to all the participants of the evening as a handy addition to the lecture. What impressed me here was that it cut out all the additional chitchat that happened through the night. I was able to use the AI to pull out all the relevant information for the evening and summarise it so I could easily pass it on.
In the next test, I had a small editorial meeting. I needed to speak to a couple of writers and the editor about a few projects I have going on, as well as the logistics of moving certain cameras from one location to another. Here, Notta Memo really came into its own, able to separate the individual speakers and create action points for each. This saved us time while we were taking notes. Having a unified summary made all the difference, so we were all looking at the same interpretation of the meeting rather than walking away with slightly different thoughts. Essentially, the action points were clear and assigned to each individual.
The final test was the phone pickup, again, a simple, straightforward conversation with a colleague about a new 3D printer and a few issues I was having, which they had already sorted out with the manufacturer. Through that conversation, they walked me through the network connectivity step by step. Whilst I was furiously writing notes, just knowing I had that conversation recorded and could ask it questions later on was a huge help, especially as there was so much information to take on board.
What’s even more impressive is that I had to do this conversation in a busy café in Salisbury. Whilst the noise wasn’t drowning out the call, there were a few times when I found it difficult to fully make out what was being said. However, with the live transcription also happening, I could read what was being said, although I will say there was a good five-second delay between the speaker telling me a procedure and those words appearing on the screen.
This time delay varies depending on the strength of your mobile phone's connection, and at all times, all transcription, translation, and templates require a good network connection to work. Later on, I was taking some memo notes whilst on a dog walk using the Notta Memo. I wanted to quickly summarise those notes so that I could send them on to a colleague. However, because there was no internet connection, all I could do at that time was voice record, then translate it once the connection came back in.
Throughout the test, I attempted to use the Memo for a couple of days in between charges. The battery life seemed exceptional. However, once again, it has a proprietary charger, and I always find this can be a bit of an issue, especially when you forget to take that charger with you. Although it might add a little bulk to part of the device, I'm sure it could have been designed so that a USB cable could be inserted rather than the magnetic connection at the back. It might not be quite as convenient for the design, but it would certainly be more handy and usable for anyone who travels frequently.
32GB might not sound like a lot of storage, but when it comes to transcription and audio voice recording, that’s actually quite a great deal. Through the course of this review, I must’ve recorded some 20 hours’ worth of audio, which all sat perfectly happily within the Notta Memo. What I like here is that you can sync that audio with the Notta Cloud, so if you need to access that note and you don’t have the Notta Memo with you, you can log in online and find everything there.
Whilst I have used quite a few of these AI voice recorders, I will say that the depth of the Notta app and its online presence are greater. My one issue with this, as with some of the other recent AI-enhanced devices and applications that I've used, is the overuse of emojis and cartoon characters, such as waving cats, which just doesn’t seem very professional or businesslike in a business-focused device.
- Performance: 4.5 / 5
Notta Memo: Final verdict
The Notta Memo is an exceptionally impressive AI voice recorder, and if you're looking for a dedicated device to complement your mobile phone so you're not filling it up with voice recordings and can also access it quickly whenever a call or meeting happens, then it's a superb option.
I like that you can either use it live, connected via Bluetooth to the app, or, if you're not with your phone and just want to take the recorder, record the vocals and have the transcription applied to those recordings later.
The app is one of the most comprehensive that I've seen. The transcription speed is superb. My only quibble with the app and the online presence is that some of the light-hearted aspects, such as clapping cats and caricatures that randomly appear at different points, just don't feel very professional compared with some other options.
However, that's in stark contrast to the power it actually has, and compared with many of the other AI transcription and, for that matter, translation options, it is extremely powerful. What also gives it the edge is not only the pure accuracy of that transcription, but the fact that you get a decent amount of transcription for free. Obviously, you need to pay for the hardware, but unlike other devices, you can get by for most general use without paying an additional monthly subscription.
AI voice recorders are in their infancy, and whilst many people will see the benefits, it isn't until you start to use one in your day-to-day life that you realise just how useful they are. Just having one in a meeting to record the audio so you can quickly summarise it afterwards is invaluable. And when you're making phone calls, especially to colleagues, having that recording firstly to listen back to, but also to quickly type into a chat and ask to summarise that phone call, is again extremely useful.
At present, I don't really know anyone other than myself who has started using one of these AI voice recorders, but every time I show someone one of these iterations, they need very little explanation as to why they're so useful. Soon, I'm sure they'll become commonplace, attached to the backs of people's mobile phones, ready to aid people in their busy lives alongside AI-enhanced apps we have yet to imagine.
Should I buy a Notta Memo?
Value | Under £200/$200 for a slimline device that essentially does what your mobile phone can do with an app may sound expensive — until you start using it. Then its convenience becomes apparent. | 4/5 |
Design | The slimline design and MagSafe connection let it sit on the back of your phone, ready for use whenever you need it. Just a shame it uses a proprietary charger. | 4/5 |
Features | The ease of recording with the switch, screen, and button makes it extremely easy to interact with, and the fully featured app, which includes templates, makes it one of the most feature-packed AI recorders yet. | 4.5/5 |
Performance | Transcription accuracy across the test — in the lecture theatre, café, and a quieter meeting room — was almost 100%. | 5/5 |
Overall | Slim, stylish, and easy to use with superb accuracy. Once you start to use one of these devices, there really is no going back. | 4.5/5 |
Buy it if...
You need meeting notes.
If you're in a meeting and need to take the minutes, this audio recorder will quickly summarise everything that's been said, who said it, and create action points.
You need to quickly translate.
If you're off to a trade show anywhere in the world, and you know you're going to be in situations where you'll be talking to people in a variety of languages, even if the translation isn't live, it is certainly fast.
Don't buy it if...
You only take notes occasionally.
While the idea of a dedicated hardware device might be appealing, most of the features can be found through the standard Notta app, which is a software download with a subscription for both iOS and Android devices.
You're worried about privacy.
You can make audio recordings offline and take notes, but to use all features, you must be logged in to the ecosystem to enable online transcription, translation, and other features.
For more note-taking tools, we reviewed the best speech-to-text apps around.
