TascamiM2 Channel Portable Digital Recorder

I do my fair share of Garageband recording and have the mobile app as well. For my computer, I have a dedicated mic which suits my needs just fine, but for my mobile devices, their built-in microphones can be a bit disappointing at times.I ordered the TASCAM iM2 Stereo to fill in that gap between quality recordings in my mobile devices and so far I am very pleased with my purchase.It looks a tad bit flimsy (build quality) and one might feel that it could snap in half any moment, but it actually is a pretty sturdy little fellow. In any case, once you hear its recording quality and compare it with the default one, I am sure you will be smiling.Firstly, what I noticed in the sound quality was that apart from clarity, I could now "hear the room". To explain what I mean, the mic picks up the acoustics of the environment you are in and its actually cool to be able to hear what environment you are recording in. Also, the mic records in stere compared to the default mic which is in mono, so when you are listening to your recording via headphones, you will get a much more richer texture to your sound.I haven't been able to test out the limiter (its a switch on the side that you can turn on/off) but the next time I'm at a concert, I will definitely do it and will report back here. For now, I tried recording strumming my guitar as loud as i could as near to the mic as possible and the recording was smooth, no jarring etc.On the other side, there is a kind of a volume knob with 'level' printed next to it, but I haven't figured out what its for! Its definitely not the mic level because it records the same at both extremes. (Maybe mine is faulty?)Now they claim the mic is 180 degrees. I think they should have clarified that it is on hinges and can be panned MANUALLY around 180 degrees. There is a marking on the round cylinder like head and whichever direction the marking is facing, that means the mic is facing that direction.Lastly, I'd like to add that I carry this mic everywhere (i just slip it inside my jeans and forget about it) and I've already sat on it multiple times, dropped it, and thank god it hasn't broken yet. It doesn't feel all that big once in your pocket, and paired with the iPhone4s, which records in 1080p video, you have found it's soulmate.Please let me know if I've made any mistakes.Thanks for reading.Cheers.edit: I forgot to mention that since the mic takes the entire iPhone port, there is a mini USB port on the mic which facilitates charging of the iPhone. I wish it were MicroUSB since I have the plug, but I guess Mini USBs cables are not that hard to come by.

I bought this device for my iPhone 4 because I thought it would be handy to record myself with a better quality mic instead of the in-built mic and also record stuff on the fly. I tried it out the first day, and it seemed to work out alright. The quality is definitely better than the in-built mic, but the recordings with this device are generally softer, so you have to make sure that you're close to the mic. The recordings would also occasionally contain digital glitches and weird buffers even though I didn't touch the phone or mic, and there was no wind blowing. I thought it would eventually go away.Nope.This is the main reason I'm giving this product a one star. I just finished using this mic to record songs of me singing while playing the ukelele. But all four of my recordings had weird glitchy noises, and I have no idea why! I plug it in, the blue light turns on, I make sure that the red lines are facing the source of the sound, and I record, but the glitchy noises still happen, rendering my recordings useless. I read the reviews, and it didn't seem like this was happening to anyone else. I purchased a new one, but it doesn't sound new. I've tested the mic with various recording apps, and the glitches have occured with every app. There's the occasional recording that doesn't contain glitchy noises, but the iM2 is still unreliable. The only possible explanation I can think of is that this device doesn't work with iOS 7.So here's the breakdown of negative aspects you should take heed of:-the iM2 feels like light cheap plastic-while the iM2 is connected to your Apple device, you won't be able to listen to playback regardless of whether you're wearing earbuds/headphones-in response to those who have said that you can't record using the iM2 while earbuds (w/ a mic) are also plugged in: the phone/tablet uses the most recently plugged in device to record, so if you want to use the iM2 while wearing earbuds, you should FIRST plug in the earbuds THEN connect the iM2. But if you want to hear playback, you will still have to disconnect the iM2 every. single. time. It's annoying.-the iM2 does allow you to charge your phone while it's connected, but it needs a certain type of cable. I'm not sure what cable you need (sorry); I just know that you'll need something that is NOT your typical Apple or Android charging cable.-THE CABLE DOES NOT COME WITH THE PACKAGE!!-the iM2 doesn't use batteries; it thrives on your Apple device's battery. And there's no on/off switch. You will be constantly connectiing and disconnecting this device, AND IT'S SO ANNOOOYING.-weird glitchy noises will occur throughout your recordings. As far as the reason, I do not know. All I can say is that I am using an iPhone 4 w/ iOS 7. And these glitchy noises occur regardless of the recording app. It's major butt.The good:-it's portable.-without the weird glitchy noises, the audio quality is definitely better than the in-built mic because it removes a lot of white noise, and the sound is more balanced. The gain is pretty low, so unless you have a way to bump up the audio, make sure that you're close to the mic.I am very disappointed with this device. It's not what I wanted it to be. But to be honest, what can you expect from a mic that's 15 bucks? -_-Do what you want, you have been warned.