iPhone Call Recording: It Makes Too Much Sense Not to Do

I always record calls that include word-of-mouth contracts, from negotiating auto repairs to canceling paid subscriptions. I have never had to use one of these recordings, not even in case of disputes, but I have always felt comfortable that if push comes to shove I have their word on tape.<p>(In Denmark it is legal to record a phone conversation without the consent or knowledge of the other party, you'd probably want to check your local laws regarding this.)

Imagine if someone came if with a generic idea for a computer program and they described it as 'Windows Blah Blah'. Many would see this as reflecting poorly on the author's knowledge of computing. What about Linux or OSX? Why are you so close minded as to only think about Windows? they might say. In the same way I think that the use of the word 'iPhone' for generic smartphone concepts should be deprecated in favor of more generic terms.

I consider things like these scary privacy problems.<p>Imagine it becoming a standard and then your friends going "Hey, you gotta hear what X said about Y on the phone. Here, I recorded it."<p>It would probably be considered weird if you had something against recording, after all you are talking with a friend and you trust him/her, right?<p>If you want to record a phone call, you can always do so (maybe not on a locked-down thing like the iPhone, well, your choice). But making it a prominent feature screams for abuse.

Google Voice has phone recording. I use it quite often for business calls. It chimes before the recording begins with a message informing both parties what's going on.

Mobile phone audio quality is barely a photon's cough above usable. Add in mobile phone signal transience and the suggested periodic beeps to indicate that it's being recorded ... would that be good enough to be a podcast?<p>If that is good enough, then don't wait for Apple to code it, use the mentioned conference call/third party feature to dial an Asterisk server that announced "Recorder present" and then records the conversation.