A wearable voice recorder, or a mere notion of it, may incite the pictures of lapel microphones or spy gadgets in our imagination, but very few people would imagine a device like Senstone. A labour of love supported by thousands of backers on Kickstarter, it is as futuristic as it is innovative.
The device itself looks like a decorative button. Intended to be clipped to a collar or worn as a pendant, it is perfectly hands- and screen-free. You can start recording by a single tap on the device. All audio is processed and then transcribed into a text document.
What we are especially interested in, however, is the Senstone app – the ‘home quarters’ where all recordings can be viewed and managed to match your preferences.
As it is, we have decided to compare Senstone App to a typical Notepad App to see which one is better and test whether Senstone is as good as it has been described to us by a couple of resident geeks and productivity enthusiasts.
Let’s start.
Round 1: Speech to Text.
Senstone: option present. Transcription is automatic; the resulting text is processed by the AI, spell checked, grouped into sentences and paragraphs, and saved in the app.
Notepad: option unavailable.
Senstone – Notepad: 1 : 0
Round 2: Design.
Minimalism and intuitive UI is the golden standard for recording apps and time management products. All our contestants possess the clear, distinct interface we expect from productivity tools. Each option is exactly what it says on the tin, and the general design is both aesthetically pleasing and unobtrusive.
This round is even.
Senstone – Notepad: 2 : 1
Round 3: Organisation and Output Management.
The absolute majority of notepad apps are incapable of audio recording, so we can only speak of file management in general.
For Senstone, both MP3 files containing user’s audio recordings and their transcripts are initially stored in the cloud accessed from the app. You can download the files; you can also rename, copy, or delete them, as well as apply tags to organise your notes into groups and edit the transcripts however you wish.
Similar to Senstone, Notepad has the basic standard features like saving, editing, search, et cetera. However, it lacks the tagging system, which does nothing to streamline file organisation. Some notepads do have prioritization but it seems limited in comparison.
Another feature, important enough to warrant a separate paragraph, is the personal dictionary. While Notepad has no such functionality, we think the feature, present in Senstone, is extremely useful.
Senstone – Notepad: 3 : 1
Round 4: Export and Sharing.
The most basic form of export is the copy and paste functionality present in any smartphone. It works for text notes and transcripts but exporting audio can be a little tricky.
When it comes to sharing files between users or apps, Senstone wins in all respects: you can quickly mark the last week entries and share them via WhatsApp, Telegram, or another messenger of choice, or send them to email in a matter of seconds.
Senstone – Notepad: 4 : 1
Round 5, Final: Convenience and Price/Quality Ratio.
You can buy premium subscription and gain access to the full range of features offered by the Senstone assistant, with the option to cancel any time. Monthly, quarterly, and half year subscription plans are available. No ads.
Notepad apps, on the other hand, can boast neither of the advantages. The free ones are usually overflowing with ads and lack all but the most basic features. They might be a quick and dirty alternative to a scrap of paper but little more.
Senstone – Notepad: 5 : 1
And so, Senstone app wins! A clean sweep if there is one.
We hope you have found this little contest as engaging as we did. The world of productivity apps is certainly growing more diverse as developers invent more and more ingenious ways to improve on the concept.
Stay tuned for more. Stay sharp.
