Just ask anyone at the London Standard, recording and transcribing interviews can be a slog.
You’ll have to use your phone’s mediocre microphone, import the file into a paid-for transcription app, or even transcribe the recording manually. For journalists and beyond, the Plaud AI Note puts itself forward as a slicker solution.
The Note is an AI-powered transcription device that’s perfect for the professional space. The beauty is in its usability. Start recording by holding the small button in the top right corner, and the device is live, instantly transcribing the audio onto your phone.
Plaud AI Note key specs
Design
In terms of discretion, the Plaud AI Note is unrivalled. It’s about the size of a credit card, and can be easily placed on a table to record a natural conversation without spooking your interviewee, or constantly reminding everyone in a meeting they’re being recorded. With a high-quality cool-washed aluminium finish that comes in black, navy blue, starlight or silver, it looks great too.
Every Note comes with a magnetised leather wallet and sticking metal ring that attaches to a phone. The brand advises users to remove phone cases to allow the wallet to stick to your phone, as I did. Android users, like my colleague, may come up against a challenge as the magnetised ring refused to stick to their Samsung Galaxy A26.
Performance
Like other transcription services, such as Otter.AI, the most helpful aspect of Plaud is the AI-powered note-taking software, with its fantastic ability to thematically summarise conversations and divide transcripts clearly between speakers. But it’s also the product's biggest downfall.
The prospect of running out of minutes in the middle of a meeting is the stuff of feverdreams
Cost - is it worth the price?
After the initial £150 for the Note, you can either opt for the free service, which is limited to 300 minutes of recording a month, or pay for the premium one, at an additional £99.99 per year for 1200 minutes, or £229.99 for unlimited time. As the Note will be largely used by professionals, the prospect of running out of minutes in the middle of an important meeting is the stuff that feverdreams are made of.
Equally, the standard account’s transcription speeds are slower, meaning your hand may be forced to get the premium service. Whilst £150 might seem reasonable, the added premium subscriptions put the Plaud Note’s value for money into question, especially when compared to an Otter.AI subscription, which starts at £9 a month.
Plaud AI Note
Designed for executives and journalists who are sick of the endless labour that is transcribing interviews, the Plaud AI Note is an AI-powered device that’s perfect for the professional space.
It's discreet - about the size of a credit card - and can attach to the back of your phone, facilitating as natural a conversation as possible, or recording voice calls as needed.
Its biggest draw is the AI-powered note-taking software, and its fantastic ability to thematically summarise conversations and divide transcripts clearly between speakers.
But to ensure you don't run out of recording time, you must pay for extra minutes, which can cost up to £229.99 for an unlimited package.
This puts the Plaud Note’s value for money into question, especially when compared to an Otter.AI subscription, which starts at £9 a month.
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