How to double your work efficiency after the holidays? I will tell you the answer with Sogou AI Recorder C1 Pro

With the rise of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, traditional industries are undergoing a series of dramatic changes. This is especially true for hardware terminals that have been innovated due to the accelerated penetration of the Internet and cutting-edge technologies, and the voice recorder market is no exception.

Smartphones are taking up space, product competition is homogenized, and usage scenarios are limited. Under the combined effect of internal and external factors, the current traditional digital voice recorder market is not optimistic. According to previously disclosed data, from 2015 to 2018, the average annual compound growth rate of domestic voice recorder industry output was -1.58%. The market demand is saturated, and traditional digital voice recorder products are difficult to break through the restrictions. The industry's most obvious feature is that it is neither hot nor cold.

To empower and rebuild hardware terminals, Internet manufacturers based on artificial intelligence semantic recognition technology have entered the market one after another, targeting the smart voice recorder market and making intensive layouts. As a veteran in the Internet war, Sogou launched the translation treasure and AI voice recorder in 2018, and took AI+voice as a strategic focus.

This can be fully demonstrated in the Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro released at the end of last year. Unlike traditional digital voice recorders, this product can not only record, but also supports many functions such as voice-to-text, simultaneous interpretation, WiFi fast transfer, etc., bringing innovative experience to users. I also got this new product recently, and now I will experience the charm of this new product through actual hands-on experience.

Appearance

"It's so small!" Looking at the Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro in my hand, this is my first impression of this product. The official size is 57.2*19.9*10.8mm. We may not feel much from the numbers alone, but when compared with the small USB flash drives that we usually carry with us, I believe everyone can immediately feel its small and exquisite features.

As the latest model in Sogou's smart voice recorder product line, Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro is currently priced at 598 yuan on JD.com. In terms of appearance, this product has three colors: black, blue, and white, and the one I got this time is white. Although it is designed in white, Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro actually uses a color matching design, with gray and black used on the bottom to enhance the texture.

The overall square shape that resembles a "chocolate bar" looks simple, but it is quite exquisite in details. On the front, it uses a digital dual microphone array, located at the top and bottom respectively. In addition to using a dual microphone array to enhance the sound pickup effect, Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro is also equipped with Sogou's self-developed pure Voice AI noise reduction algorithm, which can be optimized for different scenarios to improve the sound pickup quality.

The microphone on the top is the indicator light. If you get too close to the person, a red light will appear to remind you to keep your distance. On the side of the body, the upper part has the recording indicator light and the recording button, and the lower part has the power indicator light and the power button/WiFi button.

There is also a back clip on the back, which greatly enhances the portability of daily use. At the bottom is the charging port of Sogou AI Recorder C1 Pro, which is also a highly universal Type-C port.

In terms of battery life, the official said that its standby time is up to 40 days, and a full charge can last for 10+ hours of continuous recording. It also supports charging while recording.

Operation experience

In actual connection, the process of Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro is also very simple. First, long press the power button. After feeling the vibration feedback, Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro will enter pairing mode. Next, use the Sogou Recording Assistant APP on your phone to select the model, which will include the appearance description of the device, which is very considerate. Finally, short press the power button of Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro to confirm, and the phone and Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro are paired.

On the APP page, the upper left corner is the device status, where you can see information such as device power and firmware version. Among them, the noise reduction method is worth adjusting, which is ordinary noise reduction and high-definition vocal enhancement. The biggest difference between the two is that the latter enables high-definition vocal enhancement directly in the recording, while the former starts enhancement after importing the APP. The latter will be more timely, but the battery life will be directly halved. The specific scenario still depends on the personal needs of the students.

In recording mode, Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro is divided into the following modes, suitable for different distances and scene requirements.

Functional Experience

Compared with traditional voice recorders, smart voice recorders have many intelligent functions, the most important of which is real-time transcription. While recording voice, Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro can convert text into text for presentation, which greatly facilitates users to modify and organize content.

Without further ado, let's test the accuracy of recognition. The scene is a typical office scene with a noise level of 49.6dbA, which is roughly equivalent to a general meeting or interview environment.

We tested the near-field recognition of speech shorthand at a distance of 0.3 meters, and except for a few words, the rest of the overall text expressions were all hits. Secondly, we tested the interview shorthand at a distance of 1 meter, and the recognition effect was roughly the same. We focused on testing ordinary far-field recordings at a distance of 1-3 meters, placing them at a distance of about 3 meters. From the test results, except for the misrecognition of a few words, the rest of the content was still accurately recognized.

From the perspective of recognition content, users still need to correct the corresponding content for homophones and similar sounds. But generally speaking, the recognition effect of Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro can still meet the needs of users. As for the accuracy of recording to text, Sogou said that 0.3 meters reached 97%, and 3 meters reached 94%. For general content workers, the near field of 0.3 meters will be the main scene, so the recognition effect is still guaranteed.

In addition to this function, the simultaneous interpretation function is also eye-catching. In terms of language, Sogou AI Recorder C1 Pro supports Chinese-English translation, and the conversion effect is also very accurate and fast. If you want to use other languages, Sogou AI Recorder C1 Pro can currently communicate through dialogue translation, but it is not as good as the former in terms of transcription continuity and formality. However, this all requires the enhancement of cloud semantic recognition technology. In the future, we can expect Sogou to launch more simultaneous interpretation languages.

When multiple people collaborate on external interviews, Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro can undoubtedly reach more users without any barriers and improve work efficiency.

After solving the recording problem, I believe that many people are faced with the problem of file importing. In addition to data cables and Bluetooth transmission, this time Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro has added a WiFi fast transfer function. Users can transmit through the local area network between the voice recorder and the mobile phone. This method is not only convenient to connect, but also has a faster transmission rate. In addition, the storage specification of Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro is 32G, which is more than enough for audio files.

With a small and precise "chocolate block" shape and an extremely light weight of 18g, it is hard to imagine this as a powerful voice recorder just from its shape and size. However, with the powerful artificial intelligence technology of Sogou Cloud, this mini voice recorder has brought rich functions such as text transcription and simultaneous interpretation, which can cope with most scenarios of voice recording.

If you are a content worker who is limited by the tediousness of organizing content in the past and needs a lightweight, portable and powerful recording device, then the Sogou AI Voice Recorder C1 Pro will be a good choice.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.