Voice Recorder A really solid and simple app-- no ads, just hit record and either save the resulting file to your SD card or send it to yourself or anyone else via email or even Evernote.

Recordoid Dictaphone Lite The tape-deck interface of this app is a little too cute for my tastes, and its required extra tap is a little annoying, but I can't deny this app does what it says it would do--record audio. This 'Lite' version comes with a time limit on the sound files of a maximum of 3 minutes. You can set it for less, though I'm not sure why you would. Still, the saving convention is fairly easy and quick, and a new file is started immediately, so in a push you could use this to record more than 3 minutes of audio if you don't mind the odd 5 second gap, though if you need more than three minutes of audio recording, you might try these other free audio recording apps that might serve you better, minus the kitsch.

EWeb Audio Recorder Simple--maybe a bit too simple. Record, play and share audio files--though 'sharing' is limited to inputting an email address to send the file to. The 'play' function is also a little buggy. Saves as an mp4 file.

vRecorder A slightly nicer-designed simple voice recording app, with more sharing options, including SMS, that lets you turn your files into notification sounds straight away.

Virtual Recorder This is the best of the lot for free audio recording, though it does not have share options. It lets you set your pitch, and has a host of other options as well. Likewise, it shows you a visual representation of the audio levels it is recording so you can tell it's working. Although it is ad-supported, it also has a cute tape deck in the background (that you can turn off if it's too cutesy for you).

Sound Recorder Although it is a bit slow to load with an odd first screen, this recording app is another no-frills recorder that is perfectly functional with options to share your files via email or set as a notification tone.