What are the audio recording specifications for the Newton MessagePad 2x00 and eMate 300 products?

The Newton MessagePad 2x00 series offer monophonic audio recording using the built-in Microphone and Notepad application. While the eMate 300 supports audio recording, it does not have a built-in microphone and therefore relies upon third party developers to provide an audio-in solution.

To record an audio note, tap the New slip in the Notepad view and choose "Recording."

To access the audio recording preferences, tap the "Prefs" application in the Extras drawer and choose the "recording" view. The following options are available to choose from:

Recording source: None, Microphone, Line-in.

To use the built-in Microphone on the MesagePad, tap the Microphone option in the recording source menu. Choose Line-in when using an external audio source connected to the interconnect serial port.

Recording quality: Voice (2K/sec), Voice (4K/sec), Music (5K/sec)

Voice (2K/sec) - GSM encoded (8Khz, 1.65KBytes/sec). This format is not available on the eMate 300.
Voice (4K/sec) - IMA encoded (8Khz, 4Kbytes/sec). This format is labeled "Low" on the eMate 300.
Music (5K/sec) - IMA encoded (10Khz, 5Kbytes/sec). This format is labeled "High" on the eMate 300.

The Newton hardware can support up to 21k, 16 bit sound (Full native rate).

Recording volume: quiet, loud

The recording volume is similar to varying the gain of the input signal. For example, using a loud setting may result in more ambient or background noise and possible distortion of the audio signal.

Recording time

Recording time is limited by available memory. For example, when recording with a 4 Megabyte PC Flash Memory card the maximum recording time at 1650 bytes/second is 42 minutes. Using the same card with an eMate 300, the maximum recording time at 4KBytes/second is 17.5 minutes.

As a card becomes full, skipping may occur in the recording.

To record audio to an external card, tap the "Card" application in the Extras drawer and check the "Save new info and packages on this card" option. Also, make sure the Notepad Preferences slip (accessible by tapping the "i" button in the Notepad view) does not have the option "Always store new notes internally" checked.