Rating: 4/5
In journalism, the distinction between “on the record” and “off the record” is same as a verified news story and a rumor, respectively. Having information on the record means the source agrees that their identity and their specific words can be published.
For a journalist, a digital recorder always comes in handy because it is not just a tool, but a professional insurance policy. While shorthand notes are great for easy reference, a recording provides the hard facts of what was actually said.But as the digital world moves fast, having a recorder is not just enough. You don’t have enough time to revisit every word or line and transcribe it. But what if there’s a solution: a recorder that not only captures the audio like an important meeting but also transcribes it quickly and make it available right on your phone.
Priced at under Rs 12,000, Zeno Weaver is exactly that solution – and it does solve this problem in a package small enough to stick directly onto the back of your phone.
We used the Zeno Weaver AI recorder by itel, and here’s what we think of it.
Zeno Weaver recorder: Design
The Zeno Weaver is a compact AI voice recorder that is exactly the size of a credit card and its thickness is equal to three credit cards stacked together. It is thin, sleek and has a minimalist design with a small pill-shaped screen, and two buttons on either side.
On the back are pogo pins for charging, and it comes in a MagSafe-cover that can attach on your phone’s back (if it offers MagSafe support).
Zeno Weaver recorder: Recording and transcription
Zeno Weaver recorder combines one-tap recording with instant transcription and automated summaries via a smartphone app. It is built for professionals, students, journalists and anyone who regularly sit through meetings, lectures or interviews and needs an accurate record of what was discussed.Setup is minimal, operation is straightforward, and the idea is simple: press record, focus on the conversation and let the device handle everything else. The recorder features a small screen on the front to confirm when recording has started. According to the company, once a recording is complete, the AI engine, which is powered by ChatGPT 4.0, analyses the discussion and presents it in a structured format.
We could choose from multiple professional output formats, including Minutes of Meeting, interview notes, blog drafts, video scripts, and mind maps.
That flexibility is one of the device’s stronger selling points. However, the free support is limited. Users will get 300 minutes of free transcription per month. For unlimited transcription, the company is offering certain plans.The recorder uses multi-microphone noise cancellation to capture clean audio capture even in noisier environments, so it was comparatively easier to record audio in a cafe and a conference room with large number of speakers.
Moreover, the device supports translation. For example, if a press conference is in English and you are a reporter who writes in Hindi, you can utilise the translation feature.
On the hardware side, the Zeno Weaver is claimed to offer up to 40 hours of recording capacity, a standby time of 40 days, and 32GB of internal storage – which we found was enough for most use cases without needing frequent charging.
Zeno Weaver recorder: AI Recorder app performance
The Zeno Weaver works in conjunction with the AI Recorder app, available on both Android and iOS.
The app enabled us to access recordings, transcripts and summaries in a single interface. It also supports translation, file sharing and offline recording.
During our review, we compared the output of the Zeno Weaver recorder and app with the output of native recorder on the Google Pixel 10 Pro smartphone. We found the the AI device to be pretty accurate in recording (you can listen to it in the app), in transcribing and even in translation.
Verdict
The Zeno Weaver is available on Amazon India at an estimated street price of Rs 11,816, which we found is reasonable given that we got 300 minutes of free monthly transcription included without a subscription. The performance is high-quality as the recording, transcription and translation were accurate. For professionals who spend significant portions of their day in meetings, lectures, or interviews, this is a value proposition.
