Mikey is an external microphone for the iPhone/iPod with three sensitivity settings that allow you to record everything from lectures to rock concerts.
The Price
$80
The Verdict
Mikey is a nice, solid-feeling little mic for the iPod or iPhone. When used as a voice notes recorder, holding it up to your mouth, the standard setting of sensitivity doesn't offer much of a difference versus the built-in mic. The ability to set the sensitivity for other uses, however, makes a big difference.
Setting it on a table to record an interview or conversation, for example, results in distant-sounding and quiet audio using the built-in mic. With the Mikey set to the most sensitive setting, however, the audio comes across clearly and loudly. For louder recordings, such as concerts, it'll do its best to keep things from getting overblown. If you use that low-sensitivity setting for normal use, of course, you won't be able to hear a thing.
At $80, it's tough to recommend for casual users, but for people who want to turn their iPod or iPhone into a more versatile portable audio recorder, it's pretty great.
And a note: while the Mikey isn't certified for use with the iPhone, and will prompt you to put it into airplane mode if you plug it in to an iPhone, it works just fine. Blue Microphones tells me that the next version will be certified for iPhone and will lose the prompt. [Mikey]
Sensitivity settings work great for various types of recordings
Looks and feels really solid
$80 is too expensive for an accessory like this