This is the English edition of a review from my Japanese YouTube channel, iestaLife. I review gadgets from my home studio in Japan, so product links go to Amazon Japan.
Notta provided the product for this review (sponsored).
Quick take
I tried the notta Memo Type-C, a card-sized AI voice recorder from Notta, the service known for transcribing and summarising Zoom meetings. It also records in-person meetings and phone calls. You hold a button to record, and transcription through to an AI summary happens almost automatically. It was far easier than trying to do the same thing with just a phone.
What I tested
- notta Memo Type-C with 32 GB of built-in storage: ¥25,500 on Amazon Japan at the time of recording, where it was the best-selling product in its category
- It comes with Notta’s Hardware Plan: 600 minutes (10 hours) of transcription a month, versus 120 minutes on the free plan
- Recorded myself speaking, tried real-time translation into English, and recorded a multi-speaker conversation with ChatGPT
- Recorded with the phone’s Bluetooth off, then reconnected to check the automatic transfer
What I found
- It is smaller than I expected, almost exactly credit-card size, feels premium and is very light: 29.1 g on its own, 58 g in its case.
- In the box: the recorder, a manual, a MagSafe case that sticks to the back of your phone, a metal ring for non-MagSafe phones, a charging cable that attaches directly to the recorder, and a USB-A to USB-C cable for the case. There is no USB-C port on the body itself, which is probably how it stays so thin. It would fit in a wallet.
- Operation is simple. Press the power button, hold the record button for two seconds to start, and hold it again for two seconds to stop. It vibrates when recording starts, so you know it is working. A side switch sets the mode: call recording or normal voice recording. Pairing with the app took a few taps.
- Transcription appears in the app as you talk. A few stumbles did not come out right, but it seemed to correct itself well.
- Real-time translation into English was not as fast as two people sharing a language, but showing someone the translation screen would be enough to communicate.
- When you stop recording, you can summarise straight from the home screen. Set a template and language once, and later recordings are summarised automatically. The summary matched what I said, and it was quick.
- In the multi-speaker test, Speaker 1 and Speaker 2 were separated cleanly. Recordings made with the phone disconnected transferred automatically when I reconnected, and were transcribed too.
- You could record with iPhone Voice Memos and paste the transcript into an AI to get a summary, but that takes more steps. Here one button does everything, and since Notta handles recording, transcription and summary end to end, the speaker attribution felt more accurate than when I ask a general AI to summarise a meeting.
Who it’s for
I had assumed that with AI improving so fast, a dedicated device was unnecessary, but in practice it makes life easier. Compared with assigning someone to take minutes, one of these is more accurate and good value. It also works for capturing ideas you talk through on your own, or for logging what you said while filming so you can write descriptions later. If you currently do everything on your phone, it is worth trying to see the difference. You do need a smartphone and the app to use it.
The video is in Japanese.
Limitations
The product was provided by Notta. I tested transcription mostly in Japanese, with a short English translation test, so I cannot speak to accuracy in other languages. Plan details and the price are as of the time of recording in Japan; check what applies in your region.
Products
notta Memo Type-C: on Amazon Japan
The Amazon Japan links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Check the listing for the exact model, current price and shipping availability in your region.
More reviews in English
This review is also available in Japanese.