Cisco Flip MinoHD

Pricey but handy

Camcorder Review: Cisco Flip MinoHD
by Hedirman Supian
05:55 AM Sep 03, 2010

WHAT'S all the fuss with the Flip pocket camcorder? It doesn't look particularly sexy and it's essentially a one-trick pony that records video. It doesn't even take photos.

But after using the Cisco Flip MinoHD, I've come to appreciate its simplicity and ease of use.

With a thickness of 0.66 inches, the camcorder is a tad chunky but it's small enough to slip into your pocket. You'll mostly interact with its touch-sensitive buttons and a 2-inch LCD screen. There're no card slots but the 8GB built-in memory can store up to two hours of high-definition (HD) footage. It shoots in 720p, at 30 frames per second, and saves the videos in the popular MP4 format.

For a camcorder this size, the quality of the video is decent, even in low-light conditions. And there are only two steps needed to start video recording - switch it on and tap on the big, red button. I found the Flip a very handy way to record video while I was on the go, and its small size meant that it was hardly noticed.

There's no optical zoom, but I barely made use of the 2x digital zoom because it could lower the quality of the footage. The fixed focus meant that I didn't have to fiddle with anything else either.

The MinoHD's secret sauce is the software. When you plug the device into a Mac or Windows PC, you'll be prompted to launch and install Flipshare - its video management and editing software. The Flipshare installer is stored on the device, so you can plug it into any computer.

Flipshare lets you manage the videos on your Flip, save them to your computer or edit the videos. It can also automatically stitch your videos for you. The software makes it easy to share your videos via email, YouTube, Facebook or through something called an online video channel. This is supposedly a more private way to share videos, as you can share content with a specific group of people. There are also apps you can download to enable your iPhone, BlackBerry or Android phone to access the video channel.

My main quibble with the Cisco Flip Video MinoHD is its price - $349. There are cutting-edge smartphones that will let you shoot and edit videos, too. But if you're looking for a fuss-free way to shoot, edit and share videos, the Flip's a good choice. Hedirman Supian