Some have labeled the unveiling of the new iPod nano with video recording as the "death knell" for Cisco's Flip Video line of camcorders, which seemingly redefined handheld camcorders and has cemented a spot among the top sellers of camcorders. If so, Flip is not going down easily.
On Wednesday, the company announced the second version of their snazzy Flip MinoHD, doubling amount of recording time for the device to two hours, as well as adding an HDMI jack for direct input to HD televisions with an HDMI cable. It also adds a 2" diagonal screen, vs. the original's 1.5" diagonal screen.
Flip's camcorders have gained market share because they are easy to use, easy to carry, and just plain work. While the iPod nano's new functionality is, of course, a concern, Flip already has the sort of model in place that made the iPod nearly unassailable: its FlipShare software.
By the way, none of these new features are a surprise. You might recall that in April of this year Flip introduced the Flip Video UltraHD camcorder, which added the above features to the original Flip Video Ultra camcorder. Flip pretty much had to make this change to the MinoHD.
In June of this year, Flip also added sharing functionality to its software, which you use with the Flip Video camcorders. At that time however, you could only upload to Flip's owning sharing site, or to MySpace. My comment then was "No Facebook?" That hole has now been plugged, as Wednesday, they announced the FlipShare software now allows uploads to Facebook. They say the software will be available "soon."
The new Flip MinoHD is priced at $229, while the original Flip MinoHD, with one hour of recording time and sans HDMI, is priced at $199 and the standard Flip Mino sells for $149.
While the Flip UltraHD is nice, the MinoHD is (naturally) smaller. The Mino line also offers personalization, which the Ultra series does not. That allows users to get messages or artwork onto the back of their Minos. The UltraHD has a plus, however: a user-swappable rechargeable battery, which can be replaced with AAs in a pinch.
Here's the full list of Flip MinoHD, 2nd Generation Camcorder Features, from their press release:
- SRP: $229.99
- Now Available at leading retailers and online retailers
- Colors: Brushed Metal or personalized at theflip.com
- Video Resolution: High Definition, 1280 x 720
- Records: 2 hours (8 GB built-in memory)
- Screen: 2 inch – transflective (anti-glare); 960 x 240 pixels
- Audio: Built-in wide-range, omni-directional microphone; built-in speaker with software volume control
- Battery: Built-in rechargeable (Lithium Ion); up to 2 hours use
- TV Output: Widescreen with HDMITM output
- Zoom: 2 x Digital