Another AI device might be another opportunity for disappointment. This one is called Plaud AI, and it says it will solve note-taking. Does it work? Read on
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One of the most annoying aspects of meetings for me personally, is taking notes or transcribing audio recordings of interviews or interactions. However, taking notes and summarising them is one of the best ways to remember and be able to reference these interactions when required. Plaud Note and Plaud NotePin are two devices that record these conversations and interactions, then use AI to transcribe, create minutes, and analyse all your conversations.
We have been fooled by other AI devices before, such as the Rabbit R1 and the Humane AI pin, so I was a bit more skeptical about its benefits.
The Plaud NotePin can but hung on a neck chain or used as a pin on lapel
The Plaud Note and NotePin both have similar user interfaces — they can record conversations with the press of a button. Both devices are tiny and very handily shaped. The pin version comes with a magnetic lapel attachment that lets you attach the mic to your clothes. A traditional clip-based lapel attachment is also available in the box. If you don’t like those, Plaud also sells a separate watch strap and a necklace to attach the pin. The pin has no physical buttons, and you record by touching it. In the box, you also get a dock and a charging wire.
The Note version is a small credit card device about the thickness of four credit cards. The device itself has two physical buttons, one slides to switch your device from recording phone calls to recording ambient sounds. The second is to start and stop the recording. The unique feature of the note is that it lets you record live phone calls, a feature that is sadly missing in many phones these days, particularly in the flagship devices of major phone companies. The Plaud Note in the phone recording version can record any phone call through the sound vibrations of the phone call.
In my tests, it performed well and is a good option for iPhone users, as it conveniently comes with a magnetic pocket that attaches to the back of your phone. Interestingly, the manufacturers also provide a magnetic ring that you can attach to your Android phone to magnetically fix it to your existing phone. The ring worked very well on my Android device. The ambient recording was also very good on the Note. Neither recording mode offers the sharpest or the clearest audio, but it is good enough to work with their app. The App is where the magic happens, but it is also where Plaud’s revenue model comes into play. They have three payment options.
Starter, Pro, and Unlimited. The starter is free; it has 300 minutes of transcripts a month, limited use of templates, mind map, speaker labels, private cloud sync, AI speech enhancement, smart audio trimming, merge recordings, audio import, and export. If you want the AI features and 1,200 minutes of transcription, you will have to fork over Rs 803 ($9.30) a month. For the pro plan with unlimited transcription, you have to pay a little over Rs 1900 ($22). Users can also buy additional transcription minutes at Rs 284 ($3.29) for 120 minutes.
However, having it in the Plaud AI app is very convenient as the app is well-designed and works as described. I also like the personality prompts that are available for various scenarios, letting AI format and summarise your meeting according to the type of information you need. For example, a fundraising template will be based on an audio recording summarising market overview, business model, core data, financing situation, and more.
After using this for almost a month, I am very glad with the performance of both the NotePin and Note. They are a great replacement for traditional voice recording devices. While some might argue that why would you need this to replace your phone. Recording on a device is always better than recording on a phone, as it avoids the limitations of the phone, such as poor recording quality, limited battery life.
I am not too fond of the pricing of the unlimited account, but at least for my use case, I think the starter or even the Pro will suffice. The price for both devices is Rs 16,990 on Amazon, which is a bit steep, but I appreciate the utility and its seamlessness; it is worth it in my books.
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