Philips SpeechAir voice recorder harnesses the power of Android

How many of you use voice recorders? Here at Android Authority we use them on the daily to make the best content we can, but we can’t exactly say our audio devices are “smart”. Philips and Speech Processing Solutions have just announced the SpeechAir, an intelligent voice recorder powered by Android.

It looks much like a small Android phone, but it is what’s inside this little gadget that makes it special. The Philips SpeechAir comes equipped with 3 professional-grade microphones that provide for the best quality sound under different circumstances. There’s a 360-degree mic for recording meetings. It also touts a directional microphone for focusing on single sound sources, and it also has a third MEMS mic specifically designed for VoIP calls.

The device itself comes with very modest specs. After all, you are not supposed to be playing games on this thing (though you can). Packed inside is a 4-inch 480×800 screen, 1.6 GHz Dual Core Cortex-A9 CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, a 5 MP camera and a 2700 mAh battery.

But of course, the biggest deal here is that this thing is running Android 4.4.2. It’s a customized version, but it’s still Android. This means Philips is able to move some things around the software and really make this an audio-recording powerhouse. Security is a huge focus, which is why it’s protected by AES, 256-bit, real time encryption. The SpeechAir is also antimicrobial, rugged and protected with Gorilla Glass, so it can handle a beating (just don’t go too crazy).

Not only that, but businesses and medical users (which are the main target for this product) can use the camera to scan barcodes and manage their systems. And because it is a fully connect Android device, you can transfer any file through WiFi/Bluetooth or use any needed application. You no longer need to wait until reaching a computer to get work done.

It is a very nifty little gadget, but we assume not many users will need such a powerful audio recorder. In fact, this is why it’s not really hitting your mainstream retailers. You will need to find a Philips store partner and get one from them (find the closest one to you).

There are two versions. The PSP1100 is the unit alone (with its charging dock), while the PSP 1200 will also include the SpeechExec Pro Dictate workflow software. Philips hasn’t specified how much this little guy will cost, but we are sure it won’t be cheap. Either way, it’s good to see a company releasing a good smart product, even if only a handful of people need it.

As for the rest of us, we would probably be good with a cheap smartphone, a good microphone and a handy recording app. Do you have any good suggestions?