The Bottom Line
The Flip Mino is a lightweight, easy to use camcorder that fits in your pocket. Built-in software makes editing a breeze. The Flip Mino camcorder is tiny enough to take everywhere -- and trendy enough to draw admiring stares at the swim meet.
The Flip Mino delivers an hour of full VGA-quality video. The ability to capture still pictures will delight any shutterbug who's missed the perfect moment by a split second. Two drawbacks: the sleek finish easily picks up fingerprints and the buttons may be a bit small if you have large hands. Still, the Flip Mino camcorder is well adapted to a busy mom's lifestyle.
Pros
- Sleek, modern design
- Small size and light weight make the Flip Mino easy to carry every day, in pocket or purse
- Idiot-proof features and software
- Battery recharges and software automatically loads when you plug USB connector into your computer
- Still photo feature lets you capture fleeting moments
Cons
- Sleek, modern design attracts and highlights little kid fingerprints
- May be too small for larger hands
- No advanced video features; can't expand memory capacity
- Recording with optical zoom makes video quality almost unwatchable
Description
- Sleek, pocket-sized digital camcorder in any color or design you want
- Weighs 3.3 ounces and measures 4" x 2" x 0.6" for MSRP of $149.99
- 2 GB of memory records up to 60 minutes of video
- Connects to laptop through a USB arm
- Lithium ion battery gives 4 hours of life and charges when connected to your computer
- Touch sensitive buttons on back panel
- Delivers full VGA-quality video (640 x 480)
- No-glare display screen (1.5") on the camcorder's back displays video while recording and playing back
- Video editing software included on the camcorder automatically loads to your computer
- Onboard software allows still photo capture or video uploads to YouTube, AOL and MySpace
Guide Review - Review of the Flip Mino Digital Pocket Camcorder
Tired of schlepping a bulky video camera everywhere? Check out the 3.3-oz Flip Mino digital camcorder, which slips easily into your jeans or handbag pocket.
Flip Mino Design
Made by Pure Digital, the Flip Mino looks like a cousin of the iPod. Its glossy case comes in white, black and a range of fun colors and patterns. You can even create your own design at Pure Digital's Web site.
The Flip Mino's buttons are touch sensitive and only slightly indented. I found them too sensitive at first, but quickly adapted. With only 7 buttons, including power, you'll never be stuck trying to toggle settings to capture a fleeting moment.
Ease of Use
The simplicity of using the Flip Mino is its top selling point. You can take it out of the box and immediately record video without having to digest a mammoth instruction manual. The ability to capture still photos from video will delight any parent who has missed a terrific smile because of a digital camera's delay.
The video editing software is idiot proof and pre-loaded onto the camcorder. The Flip Mino connects to your computer through the USB port, which charges the battery while you transfer files. Thank you, Pure Digital, for not giving me an installation CD or proprietary connection cable to lose!
Hard-core camcorder buffs may want more options and longer memory than 1 hour, but for a video hobbyist or parent recording personal events, the Flip Mino fits the bill.
Flip Mino Drawbacks
As my colleague Christy Matte noted on her About.com site on family computing, the Flip Mino attracts little fingers and is easily smudged.
Another drawback is the poor quality of the optical zoom. I'd recommend pretending the zoom feature doesn't exist.
The Flip Mino is also expensive. Bargain hunters should check out the Flip Ultra, which has many of the same features of the Mino. (And skips some of the drawbacks.)
