Ever had an important business call on your cell phone that you wanted to record? Or even record those crazy threats that your ex is making to you? Well there’s a solution for that! The Call Mynah cell phone recorder acts as a Bluetooth handset, but the most important functionality is that it has a record button!
Inside the box you’ll find the Call Mynah, charger, usb cable, headset cable, and the PC software. The software only works with Windows operating systems. MACs are not supported.
Recording conversations is an important part of the business world. It happens a lot when you call customer service, which records for training purposes. It’s a function that’s very useful if you just wanted something recorded to review later. And it’s pretty amazing that it’s not built-in to all cell phones. The Call Mynah solves this problem by pairing to your cell phone over Bluetooth. Once paired, it looks and works like a cell phone. You can make calls directly from it, has a built-in contact list, built-in speakerphone, and many other call functionalities. And the amazing part is that it can hold up to 340 hours of recordings!
The Call Mynah is made of all plastic with a silver plastic band around the edge which gives an iPhone 4 “look” to it. On the top edge is the speaker grill. On the bottom edge are the earphone jack and a mini-usb port for charging and transferring data to the PC.
The left side has the volume controls, and the right side has the dedicated record button.
The front of the Call Mynah is a fingerprint magnet, but it’s flat so it’s easily wiped clean. But the flatness makes the buttons hard to find and push. I’m not sure how thick the top layer is, and I think it might crack over a period of time with constant button pushing. The buttons do make a clicking noise when depressed, and the microphone will pick up the button clicking noise if you’re recording a conversation.
The Call Mynah comes with a mini-cd that has the main Xtr Call Mynah and Xtr Desktop software. Also on the cd are sample wallpapers and the manual in pdf. The Call Mynah can be charged using the adapter that came with it or through the USB port on the computer. You have to put the Call Mynah into “USB Mode” before connecting to the computer for it to be detected. Only problem for me is that it didn’t work at all for me. The Call Mynah never gets detected by the device manager. I have tried this on both Windows XP and Windows 7. Must be a bad connector on the Call Mynah side. But the Call Mynah works just fine without the dependency on the computer software.
The Xtr Call Mynah software looks pretty self-explanatory. You get 4 tabs of options.
The settings tab is where you can configure your Call Mynah on the computer and load up the settings. All of these settings can also be done on the Call Mynah by scrolling through the menus.
The phonebook tab is where you can load up your contact list. You can only load up to three numbers per contact.
The call log tab shows all the incoming and outgoing calls made through the Call Mynah. It also shows the recordings and a bunch of relevant information.
The about tab is where you can contact support and see various links to websites and updates.
The Xtr Desktop software is where you can play the recordings and save them to the computer. It also allows you to write comments, set bookmarks, convert to .wav format, and email the recording.
You can program the Call Mynah to automatically start recording when a call comes through or when you push the record button. There are options to disable or enable an audio warning to let the caller know that you’re recording them. The Call Mynah has a power saving feature which turns off the screen, and the only button that reactivates it is the record button on the side. That took me awhile to figure out since common sense would lead you to think that the call send and end buttons would activate the screen again.
The recordings are clear and loud when played back from the built-in speakers. It works flawlessly as a recorder, and it’s inconspicuous because it looks just like a regular cell phone.
The Call Mynah is priced at $249 direct from Spy Gadgets. It might be a tad bit expensive but is well worth it if you need to record an important business conversation and such.
Product Information
| Price: | $249 |
| Manufacturer: | Intelligent Recording Limited |
| Retailer: | SpyGadgets |
| Requirements: |
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| Pros: |
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I wanted to write a short review of Call Mynah.
I bought one and it does work fairly well. A bad usb cable was sent with it which caused some confusion… I thought the computer function did not work but it worked fine after I replaced the cable.
Some cons though: There is a bit of interference and when speaking, my voice is loud and the respondent’s is quiet, this is also the same for the recording. Sometimes calls are dropped but this isn’t often. To use this device, both phone and Call mynah must be bluetooth enabled. This is inconvenient and sometimes phone calls don’t work properly such as calls not going through after bluetooth disable on either device. My biggest dislike is the imbalance of voice volumes and interference. There is also a huge energy drain from my phone’s battery.
Otherwise, it does work well recording and does what it is supposed to do. The interface to the computer works quite well. I hope there is firmware in the future that may fix the problems, which also may already exist. Feel free to contact me via e-mail for any more opinions.
wd****@ho*****.com
This device is cheaply and poorly made and they do not stand behind their product, and so you are out of luck. The device would not keep sync most of the time. I will never take a risk with this.
Summary: Does not work with my iPhone 4. Does it work with yours? Which Carrier?
Details:
1. I can dial out – the number is dialed and a connection is made, however no voice can be heard in either direction. If I press a number button on the CM, it is heard by the called number. If the called number presses a button, nothing is heard on the CM
2. I can Answer a Call from the CM, however no voice is transmitted or received. The button press test above gives the same results.
My iPhone4 works perfectly with 2 other Bluetooth devices, my JawBone headset, and my vehicle speakerphone, so I don’t believe the iPhone is at fault.
Next I tried the CM with another phone, a Verizon Pantech. It worked perfectly in both directions.
Versions:
Soft V1.2.2M
HARD V0.3
Date 18/08/2011
SSID 11001226
@Jon – I did not test the CM out with an iPhone. I had the Blackberry Torch at the time of the review. It worked fine with my Blackberry. Try contacting their customer support to check with them if the iPhone has been tested and supported by the CM.
@Jackie – Update – I did contact support and was advised that there is a known issue with IOS5 and a fix is available. They are going to swap my device.
Hello, I’m one of the developers at Intelligent Recording. Just to let everybody know, that on Iphone, there was a compatability issue with IOS 5 when it was first released. This has been resolved, and we have swapped out devices for those who had issues.
Current hardware/firmware resolves the issues noted above. MAC is also support via CrossOver if required. The unit ships with a trial version of CrossOver and a discount code for purchasing CrossOver.
The earpiece wire broke. Had the Call Mynah less than a month. Call the company support and was told to go buy one at any cell phone accessory store; they did not have any replacement parts. The 2.5 mm plug makes it difficult to find a replacement. Had to buy one with a 3.5 to 2.5 adapter which makes it bulky. Also is a problem in my car which has handfree built in.
I ended up using a much more reliable service to record my calls. I use RecordiaPro, the call recording quality is much better and clearer. http://www.RecordiaPro.com
Yankees
Nobody want to pay a monthly fee to record their calls.. Thats what make Call Mynah such a better obtion to use. It a one time fee and all your recordings can be transferred to your pc or backup drive.. The only thing I don’t like is that one of the reviews stated that when you record your calls, the your voice records loud and the caller voice very low.. That really sux if that is still a problem..
I used the record my call app and that is exactly what happened to me. My Voice was loud and clear, but the callers voice was barely heard. If their are any other bluetooth recording devices like this I’ld love to look into them..
Just my two cents..
Thanx
So how low is “low” when yall say that the other person’s audio is “low?” Also… Is this still a problem? I just switched from IOS to an android because my fiancee’s phone (An older Samsung Epic 4G Touch) could record calls flawlessly with an app and I need this for business purposes. I bought and upgraded to an HTC ONE and I couldn’t find any app to record good. The audio of the other caller was always very low… So I am again searching for another alternative. I saw this and thought this would have been the fix…but after reading the reviews…. It is questionable as well! Can anyone update this and help me out please???
Came with a broken USB wire and headset Broke right away. Many people have a hard time hearing me and it makes some snap crackle pop noises also. The battery Life lasts me a long time. (about 6 hours recording and a ten days on standby.) The screen seems to deteriorate after time (About 3 months I noticed and now 2 years later it looks like it is full of sand.) but you can still see it clearly enough for use. At the end I wish it could be better, but to be honest, I don’t know how I would get by without it. It is nice to play things back and listen again to what somebody said when you have virtually no memory. (Like me) Also great for catching creditors breaking the law and having them settle with you right off the bat. (Use the beeping notification for that.) This is by far the best device on the market and I just hope it is improved on by the same maker before somebody else makes something 10 times better for half the price..