I do life story interviewing professionally, write life stories, teach, and coach people how to write their own stories. I've tried many recorders and this is my go-to model and brand. It's also what I recommend to students. One question I address with students first: why not just use a free or inexpensive recording app on your phone? My answer is twofold: (a) I recommend always using a backup recording device because things can go wrong. Hence, I do have a recording app on my phone and in a pinch use this if I don't have a recorder handy or if I need a backup. (b) However, the recording quality on these is better, it's easier to manage the large audio files using the USB connection (especially for some of my older students/clients that have a hard time with tech) and there is no possibility of interference from incoming calls, phone memory, phone going to sleep, etc. Here are the reasons this is my go-to digital recorder: (1) It's reasonably priced. (2) It's small (3) It has truly excellent recording quality (4) It is rugged and holds up to use in my computer bag on a daily basis. (5) It is simple to learn/use, even if you're nervous in an interview. (6) The battery life and recording capacity feel like forever. (7) Finally, this model led out with the built-in USB connection, which is a game changer. My advice about the USB: do not, under any circumstances, purchase a small digital recorder without the built-in USB. You will hate yourself for having to dig for a cord or deal with memory cards. Just spend the extra few dollars. Note that Sony now has a comparable recorder with the built-in USB and it gives this one a run for the money but I give Olympus WS-852 props for figuring out the USB functionality first, and I still prefer the feel and use of the Olympus. Here are a few tips for beginners: always offload your files as soon as possible so it doesn't feel overwhelming and you don't risk mis-placing the recorder. Then delete them from the recorder to keep your files tidy. Be sure to delete the files using the hardware controls on the recorder itself, and not from your computer's file manager. Otherwise it can look like your memory is full and you need to reset it manually. My last basic tip relates to buying a lavalier/lapel microphone: make sure the connection is directly compatible with a digital recorder. Many microphones that are compatible with phones will not work with a digital recorder without an adapter, even if it fits in the plug, and adapters reduce sound quality. One thing I wish this recorder had was a way to fast forward or rewind while listening to an audio file. Hence, it's impractical to transcribe from the recorder itself because you can't go back a few seconds. This isn't a deal breaker because I usually don't transcribe from the recorder anyway, but there have been times when I was on the go that I wished I could listen and stop and rewind. For this reason it really does not work for listening.