Flip’s pocket camcorders made capturing and sharing video on the fly a doddle, even for those who will never be card-carrying members of the YouTube generation. In doing so, it created a new category of video shooter that is, if the inference in the press release is to be believed, responsible for all/most/some (we can’t dedice) of the online video watched by more than 10.6 million Australians each month.
The new Flip MinoHD improves slightly on those which have gone before by providing a slightly larger LCD (2 inches) for more easily framing and viewing scenes, plus twice the memory. With 8GB onboard, it can now capture 120 minutes of 720p video and, using the easy-as FlipShare software (which really has been the key to the success of the Flip family), upload it directly from any computer to YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, or email it off.
We can’t attest to the quality of this video, but with no mention of an upgrade to the imaging sensor, we assume it’s the same as previous models, which is to say it’s probably pretty ordinary. Film-like moving pictures, however, aren’t the raison d’etre of the Flip. Cheap, quick and convenient in-the-moment action capture is, and the MinoHD sports the right DNA to provide it.
There’s been a cosmetic change, too, and the new Flip MinoHD now models nicely rounded edges and an aluminium casing that lends it some satisfying heft. It costs $299, which is around $30 more than the model it replaces.
