Flip Mino

The Flip Mino was first released in 2008 and it is still a wonderful camcorder that produces high quality videos. These designable video recorders are good for sixty minutes and they fit neatly in your purse or jeans pocket. The manufacturer gave us one touch recording so that those special moments will always be captured. It powers up in just three short minutes and is perfect for the kid’s weekend soccer games or family vacation. Making memories become a lot easier and clearer with the Flip Mino. There is also a new addition to the Flip Mino family in the form of the Flip Mino HD camcorder.

Flip Mino

The 2GB of built in memory is smaller than some of the other Flip camcorders, but it is still a good camcorder for a lot of people. The anti- glare display is one and half inches and this is where you will playback your videos or delete them. This model has an internal lithium ion battery that can be recharged in two ways. There is a built in USB arm that recharges the battery or you can purchase the Flip Video Power Adaptor. This adaptor is approximately twenty five dollars at the Flip online store.

The flip out USB arm also works in conjunction with your Mac or computer to download the FlipShare software. This software is how you are able to share your videos through email, MySpace, Facebook or YouTube. If you are interested in capturing still images it can be done with the Flip Mino. Editing clips and making your own movies is another fun feature of this camcorder. If you want to be able to watch your videos on your television you will need a TV cable. Generally when you purchase direct from Flip it is included in the package.

Actual user review:
“The Flip Mino is a slick device that is well-designed to perform its intended task, namely to take videos that can be readily posted on the Internet. The video quality is surprisingly good, even indoors. The picture quality is definitely way better than I get on my cellphone (a Blackberry) or other devices where video recording capability is only an afterthought. I love how you can charge and exchange data by USB. I’m not talking about using a separate USB cable. The Mino has a spring-loaded USB plug that pops out so you can plug it in directly to your computer. And when you’re done using it, you push the plug down and a hard plastic cover protects it automatically. This is way smarter than those fiddly rubber port covers you see on many electronic devices that you have to push and stretch back into place. This cover hides the USB plug while preserving the clean lines of the device. No extra cables or chargers to carry around when you travel. I was surprised at how un-shaky the picture is. The narrow, vertical form-factor allows you to hold the Mino steadier than, say, your cellphone. I used to use my digital still camera to take videos, but I’m finding the Mino is much steadier.” – D.J.Shih (WA,USA)

If you use Windows Media Player, iTunes or any other video playing applications you shouldn’t have any problems running the MPEG 4 recordings. The VGA (640 x 480) at thirty frames per second progressive scan is how the MP4 files are recorded. There is a silent mode so that you can record without sound when the situation requires it and a child safe button so that no one can delete videos accidentally. Playback and recording in lower lighting is aided by backlit buttons. If you are prone to camera shake there is an accessory called the tripod mount that can be purchased for the Flip Mino. It attaches easily to any standard tripod.

There are several more accessories that can be bought for the Flip Mino including USB cables so that you can hook up to computers easily. The power adaptor, soft pouch for carrying the camcorder safely and a wool pouch protector are all available. They typically run between fifteen and twenty five dollars. While you may not need all of the accessories they can make life easier by having the camcorder ready to go in a moment’s notice.

One of the coolest things about the Flip Mino is the ability to personalize it. The design gallery allows you to browse through several pages of designs. Panda bears, scorpions, leaves, blue jeans, dragons, surfers, tattoos and numbers are just a few of the designs to choose from. If you can’t find anything that you like you have the opportunity to design your own in the Use Your Own Image section. There is also a pattern generator that has graphics and patterns that allow you to choose the primary colors and the secondary colors of the image you like best. It is very easy to select the one you want and follow the prompts online. The Flip Mino comes in black or white. As of this writing, the black Flip Mino can’t be personalized, but they hope to change that soon. Because of the treatment that they use on the designs they should hold up for the life of the camcorder as long as they are protected and not scratched or damaged. That is why owning a camcorder protector is a good idea.

The cost of the Flip Mino that we reviewed was approximately one hundred and fifty dollars and had free shipping. For this price, you get the Flip Mino camcorder that comes with the built in rechargeable lithium ion battery. You also receive a protective case, Quickstart guide, wrist strap and TV connector cable. For a high quality video picture and ease of use this is reasonable. Since there are more models of Flip camcorders though, you may want to check them all out to see which one would work best for you.

Average User Rating:

• “The Flip Mino is brilliantly simple. I’ve had a couple of camcorders which are big, complicated, fragile, and eventually break. The Mino is small, simple, sturdy with no moving parts. If you’re looking for something easy to use to take high quality home videos, you’ve found it. It recharges over the USB connector when you plug it into your Mac/PC. It seems to have way more charge than needed to take 60 minutes of video, so it might just end up being fully charged all the time. And I prefer the rechargeable over replaceable batteries that just end up in landfills. The video quality of the compression software was also good, though the compressor itself took a long time. In all fairness, this is probably because I have an old slow G4 Mac — time to upgrade. And you can easily grab the raw .avi files right off of the camera if you want to work with uncompressed files.” – R.P.Russell (WA,USA)
• “I love my new Flip Mino camcorder. I was mega-skeptical about how good something this tiny could be, but I needed something quick, easy and practical for sales-oriented website videos. I was amazed at how easy it is to use the Flip Mino, and at the quality of the end product video. Is it the “perfect” camcorder for every ocassion? No, but for those
  impromptu, “down & dirty”, on the spot videos it beats the heck out of using a big camcorder or a cellphone. I considered buying a Sony “Webbie”, but dollar for dollar you can’t beat a Flip.” – J.Crouse (SC,USA)

Click Here for Latest Offer on Flip Mino
Enjoy Free Shipping & Secure Shopping