As journalists, we often use our smartphones as part of our work. Not to make calls, read or send text messages and emails, or even play the odd game of Farm Heroes Saga when our boss' back is turned - well, obviously those too - but as a substitute for a dictaphone.

The only problem is that voice recording software that comes with our phones, in this case the iPhone, is great for just recording speech but not so when you have to sit down and transcribe the most relevant bits. Unless you have an uncanny memory for the timings of things, you either have to transcribe the entire conversation or skip backwards and forwards like a world-class Double Dutch team.

That's where new iPhone app Interviewy comes in. Designed by journalists, but also very useful to those who have to convert a lecture or presentation to text at a later date, the app offers several features that make the act of finding the important bits simple.

While you are recording audio, if you hear something you think you want to transcribe later, you tap the screen. That will create a TypeTag which appears as a visual marker when you play back the file later. You can then jump to the TypeTags, missing out the irrelevant sections. You can also hold your finger on the screen to mark entire sections of note.

In addition, the Interviewy app syncs the entire recording to iCloud, so you can pull it back again should you need to refer to it or play it back on a separate iOS device. The audio recording is also specifically compressed to highlight vocal ranges, so you can hear the most important aspects.

It's cunningly simple, but potentially essential for journalists and students alike. Interviewy is available for free on iTunes now.