Flip Video Mino –limited internal memory
Thumbs Up:
One-touch uploading to AOL and YouTube; ultra-slim profile; easy to use; high-end quality video and audio in its class.
Thumbs Down:
The battery is not replaceable and removable. There is no MMC/SD card slot for increasing memory. The Mino is a bit more expensive than its competitors.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
The Flip Video Mino is a 0.31-megapixel mini-camcorder that has 1/4” CMOS optical sensor and 2GB flash memory. It features automatic white balance, auto-exposure, and 2x digital zoom. The Mino supports NTSC analog video, and digital video formats of AVI and MPEG4.
The Mino camcorder has 1.5 inches LCD color display and inbuilt microphone. The microphone’s operational modes are omni-directional and mono. The lens has F/2.4 aperture with focus free adjustment and its minimum focus range is 3.3ft.
The video capture resolution is MPEG4 640×480 pixels. The additional features are In-camera movie editing, USB 2.0 compatibility, Progressive scanning, Inbuilt speaker, Date/time stamp, and Auto power save.
The connector set includes 1×composite audio/video output, and 1×USB. The supported operating systems are Microsoft Windows XP/Vista, and Apple Mac OS X.
The Flip Video Mino has standard lithium ion battery. Accessories included inside the box are one A/V cable, carrying case, drivers & utilities disc, user manual, and battery.
Razzle Dazzle:
The Flip Video Mino is 3.9 inches tall, 2 inches wide, and 0.8 inch deep and weighs 3.3 ounces. It has an ultra-slim and lightweight body.
Inside Dope:
The Flip Video Mino is a fourth generation camcorder for Pure Digital. Both the Flip Video Ultra and the Mino has similar technology and runs on lithium ion rechargeable batteries. The Mino features one-touch uploading to AOL and YouTube; and high-quality video and sound in its class. However, the batteries are not removable and there is no memory card slot for external storage. $103.45 priced the Mino is also relatively expensive than its competitors.
The Pure Digital has completely redesigned the Flip Video Mino. The USB connector flips out straightly rather than extending from the side. The Mino has 1.5 inches LCD display instead of previous 1.46 inches screen. The navigation controls on back are touch-sensitive and shinny, but flush inside the surface. The A/V output port is shifted downward and is smaller than standard 2.5mm jack. The tripod threaded mount is located in the center at the bottom.
The company has included the latest – Pure Digital Video Engine 2.5 in the Flip Video Mino as compared 2.0 Engine of the Ultra. This helps to provide the better video quality than that of Creative and RCA models. The images are sharper and colors are more vibrant. The Mino performs fine even in low-light situations. We appreciate the Pure Digital to update the microphone with revamped signal processing.
The Flip Video Mino ships with software that features one-touch upload button for uploading videos and pictures at MySpace, AOL, and YouTube. You will find similar features with similarly priced digital cameras like Casio Exilim EX-Z80. More to like – the Mino features similar direct operations on Macintosh without any software installation.
The previous Flip Video provides limited movie-making features with their software. Now, the Flip Video Mino comes with “Muvee” software that provides full clip-compiling and manual-editing abilities. You can add effects, music tracks, transitions, and mix other clips to create a movie. The Muvee also offers to buy the additional StyleLabs software. However, it is not compatible with Mac computers. The encoded AVI clips are still not directly compatible with iMovie. You can directly share and publish the videos on MySpace, AOL and YouTube by clicking on Share Video button.
As per Pure Digital, you can upload one hour video to its Web site for getting it burn on a DVD that can be distributed at $19.99 per piece. The company also saves your video on that Web site for long time.
Overall, the Flip Video Mino is a good mini-camcorder that provides better quality in reasonable rates. The RCA and the Creative model costs $30 more, but their quality is still average.
Nitty Gritty:
If you need a better quality mini-camcorder, especially for straight-to-Web support and do not mind the absence of memory increasing option, then buy – Flip Video Mino.
