Although Android OS is primarily an operating system for smartphones, over the years the platform grew and has been borrowed by OEMs to use in niches other than the mobile market. The OS has a counterpart for smartwatches, and the automotive world continues to adopt Android Auto at an accelerated rate. More recently, Philips has decided to use Google’s operating system for a new product that doesn’t fall in either one of the aforementioned categories. It’s called the Philips SpeechAir and as the title above suggests, it’s an audio recorder powered by Android OS.
Audio recorders come in various shapes and sizes, but generally speaking, they tend to share the same basic characteristics. They offer powerful audio recording tools and hardware, they come with a handful of physical buttons, and most often than not they feature a simple display which usually relies on STN LCD technology. Interestingly enough, however, Philips recently took the veil off a new audio recorder called the “Philips SpeechAir” which, unlike most other gadgets from its class, can be considered more of a “smart device” by today’s standards. This is due to the fact that the recorder features 4-inch IPS touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 800 and Gorilla Glass on top, and runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat out of the box. The terminal uses a dual-core Cortex-A9 processor clocked at 1.6 GHz, 1 GB DDR3 RAM, and 16 GB of on-board storage out of which 12 GB are available to the user.
Furthermore, the Philips SpeechAir is equipped with a light and motion sensor, an optical proximity sensor, a built-in rectangular dynamic speaker, and a 5-megapixel camera with 1080p@30fps video recording capabilities. It features a directional microphone, a 360-degrees microphone, and a MEMS microphone for VoIP. The device records audio in AMR or ACC format and can protect your content through 256-bits AES encryption; it has a bit rate of 28 kbit/s (DSS Pro), 256 kbit/s (PCM Voice), 16-bit sample rate, and can record 1073 hours (DS2) or 117 hours of WAV audio format. Last but not least, the device is powered by a 2,700 mAh battery which should offer up to 97 hours of standby time, it measures 62 x 127 x 15 mm, weighs 116 grams, and can be coupled with a docking station which weighs 264 grams on its own. As yet, Philips hasn’t listed any details regarding pricing, but prospective customers can head down to the manufacturer’s website (source link below) and try finding a retailer in their areas.