I’ve recently been invited by Mr. Tamer from X-Cite for the press release of their new Flip Video by Cisco. The good guys from X-Cite gave us a 4GB MinoHD unit to test, play around with and keep and here’s the break down on what I think of it.

1. Line up and body styling:

The body styling is simple and efficient, I kind of hoped for it to feel more solid and metallic, but that would substantially increase the price tag I believe. the buttons are few and straightforward. There’s a slider on the left side that releases the USB flip stick so you can use it with a computer, either to charge the camera or transfer files on/off it. The Flip Video lineup is as follows:

Flip MinoHD 4GB: KD53.900
4 GB | 1 hr / 720p HD | 50 fps (60 fps in Saudi Arabia) / Image Stabilisation
Built-in USB Rechargeable battery, up to 1 Hour of recording memory.

Flip MinoHD 8GB: KD69.900
8 GB | 2 hr / 720p HD | 50 fps (60 fps in Saudi Arabia) / Image Stabilisation
Built-in USB Rechargeable battery, up to 2 Hours of recording memory.

Flip UltraHD: KD59.900 (Wondering why this is cheaper than the MinoHD 8GB? it’s because it’s bigger in size than the above 2 models)
8 GB | 2 hr / 720p HD | 50 fps (60 fps in Saudi Arabia) / Image Stabilisation
Lithium-ion Battery Pack (included), ability to accept 3 AAA batteries as back up. 2 Hours of recording memory.

2. Video Recoring Details:

The quality of the video isn’t bad at all for its price range, it doesn’t capture Full 1080p video but it does capture HD video in 720p format. which is critical in this product’s popularity since it doesn’t need a powerful PC/Mac to playback or edit the videos you’ve captured yet retains a popular, more user friendly format of HD video, the 720p.

The time it takes for me to pull the cam out of my pocket and start recording is less than 4 seconds which is critical in moments you don’t want to miss, perfect for bloggers on the go. Really, don’t expect me to carry around my 4+ Kilos DSLR or the bulky video cam in my pocket.

for those of you interested in the technical details of the videos shot with the Flip Video, the package and official website offer nothing of the sort, however, I managed to retrieve the data manually and here is the break down:

Video:
Resolution is 1280x720p @ 60fps, Compressor in H.264 to .MP4 format with 1.2MB/sec Data Rate, square pixel aspect.
Audio:
32bit Floating point, 44.1 KHz, Stereo.

Flip Software:

What distinguishes this Flip Video cam from the competition is the included software. It just screams simplicity and efficiency!
Here’s some of what you can do:
Share videos to Youtube, twitter, facebook, e-mails and more.
Take snap shots off your videos in full resolution.
Edit, trim your videos.
Make movies off your videos.
Arrange your library… and much more.

Video Snapshot sample (taken using the provided software, click for full size):

Video Sample, a 1 minute useless movie called: “Morning Drive for Coffee” (Captured, edited and exported using the provided software):

I hope you’ve found the above review helpful. If you have any question, leave a comment and I’ll make sure to get back to you with the answer

Cheerios!