Product arrives and I open the box. The recording unit, microSD card with SD adapter, and one battery are included inside. No product manual :( but there was two papers that had a download access code to get their free audio software online. I pick up the recorder and am a bit surprised by the feel of it, as it's very lightweight and the plastic that it's made of feels cheap. This will end up being my least-favorite part about the Zoom H1 - the cheap casing and buttons. The MicroSD cover that covers the SD card is also cheap and kind of annoying to try to loosen to insert a microSD card. I'm not sure what they were thinking when they designed the cover, but I can overlook it since I rarely change out the microSD card anyway. I discovered the H1 isn't praised for its outer looks, features, and buttons, but for the quality of the recording, which is really what matters for the price you're paying.Once I inserted the battery the screen lit up and recording time, quality, and audio levels meter display on the screen. The audio level meter bar is constantly fluctuating, so it appears to be metering the levels very actively. I plugged my headphones into the "line out" and was blown away by the quality. The cheap feel of the Zoom H1's plastic does not at all match the quality of the sound coming through, which is superb!Next I adjusted the levels. There are manual adjustments for input level on the side. These buttons feel cheap and don't always respond when pushing them, but they do work nonetheless. The sound meter bar reflected accurately the input levels I was changing, and I could hear the increase of the sounds around me through my headphones. Next I tried the "auto level," which is part of 3 quick switches on the back of the recorder. Auto level tries to adjust the input levels according to how much sound it's picking up. It's a great concept, and it does change the input when it hears the sounds around it getting louder or quieter, but I really don't think I'm going to be using it. Unfortunately it fluctuates in a very noticeable way, and I think listeners would be very aware of it. Much more practical for me to set the input levels manually on-site while monitoring it through the headphones.The other adjustments work well. There is a lo-cut quick-switch on the back that cuts out excess background noise well. I usually leave it on unless I specifically want to capture the sounds in the background. The REC format quick-switch allows you to choose mp3 or wav format but just flipping it over to your choice. Again, a fantastic way to quickly save some memory or increase your quality if you're out in the field.The playback feature is nice, but takes a bit of getting used to navigating and deleting the files. A product manual wasn't included in the box, which would have been nice to explain how to use the playback features. But that's not too much sweat as I'll just find the manual online.Recording is very simple. Press the big red button in the middle. Press it again to stop. The record button also takes you out of the playback menu to get back to record/monitor mode. Now the top looks funky with the arrangement of the left/right channel microphones. I quickly found out that the best angle to record from was directly at the end of it. If you record at the side it will pick up one channel louder than the other, or won't pick it up very clearly. It will still pick up audio from all around the room, but if you point the end of the H1 you'll notice it zeroes in on the sound of that object. So when you're recording people, be sure to point the end of the recorder directly at them.INPUTS / OUTPUTSThere is one line out jack, and one line in jack.The line in would work great for using a lapel mic and other reviewers have shown great results using the H1 this way. You can get a quality Sony lapel for around $35 that works great, and would allow for more mobility while recording.The line out is great for monitoring through heaphones. I was able to walk around with my noise-cancelling headphones and didn't miss any sounds around me. I could immediately tell if I needed to adjust the levels or if the sound was picking up by using headphones. What a great way to know how your recording is sounding at the moment instead of finding out later that you didn't adjust it right. The line out would also work great for plugging into other equipment. I'll most likely use it for my computer and to directly plug into a DSLR camera. It would make a great "Interviewing" mic by plugging it into the DSLR camera and holding the H1 up to the person being interviewed, or you can use the tripod mount to connect a hot shoe mount (not included) and mount it on top of the dslr camera as the main mic, or to pick up a second independent channel of audio.If you don't use headphones, there is always the tiny speaker at the bottom end that will play back your audio for you. So you can easily listen to your recordings anywhere.Other ports include the USB port. The Zoom H1 didn't come with a USB cable, and it's not the standard cell phone type. Fortunately it uses the same USB port as my dslr camera, so I can just use that.FINAL THOUGHTSI'm very happy with the Zoom H1, especially the sound quality compared to the cost. Unfortunately it's apparent where the cost savings was made, which is in the low quality of the plastic casing and plastic buttons. The features are great though, and quick and easy to use on location. However, unless you're actually a professional this recorder can make you feel like one with the results. I'm all about the results, which is why I'm rating it highly and recommending it to at-home podcasters, video producers, musicians, etc. It really does pick up all the sound you need it to at high quality in a portable solution.