Back in 2006 I discovered a really cool service called Jott.  What made Jott cool was the fact that I could call Jott and dictate a message that Jott would then transcribe into text and then email to me.  By programming The Jott number into my OnStar calling system in my car I was able to press a button, tell the phone to dial Jott, leave my message and have it waiting for me when I got done driving.  I loved it.

But the Jott got sold to Nuance and the service ended on May 31, 2011 and I have been looking for a replacement ever since. (http://www.nuance.com/for-individuals/by-product/voice-to-text/index.htm).

I think that I have found something even better in an iPhone product called Instacorder.  This is an insanely simple app that does one thing very well.  You start the app and hold down a large “button” on your iPhone screen and talk.  When you are done talking, juts let go of the “button” and Instacorder emails you a wav file immediately!

I loved having the voice to text feature of Jott, but having the ability to send myself audio files of my brainstorms as they happen is almost as good!  I suppose that I could take the wav file and feed it through Dragon Dictation to render a text file if I really needed one, but for the most part, these audio files are just as good.

The basic app is FREE in the iTunes store, but for 1.99 you can do an in app upgrade to the Pro version.  The Pro version removes the ads that support the free version and also give you the ability to use the the phone camera and send pictures that you take to yourself via email.

Here is the iTunes Store link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instacorder-free-voice-note/id420768360?mt=8

I love cool free iPhone apps that are actually useful, don’t you?