Needing a way to quickly and easily capture video on a moment’s notice, I ordered a Flip Video Ultra two weeks ago.

I had mixed feelings about the Ultra once it arrived. It was kind of big, awfully boxy and it used AA batteries. (I can’t think of another device I currently own that takes disposable batteries.)

Having come to appreciate how "elegant" electronics can be (Apple, I don’t know whether to thank you or curse you),  the Flip Ultra wasn’t all that impressive.

Sure it was small enough but it was definitely a case of "function" over "form". That said, it worked. No, it worked well. It was simple to use, easy to carry, took decent video and getting the video from the Flip Ultra to my Mac could not have been easier.

I decided it was a keeper. Three days later, however, it was on the way back to Amazon.

It is not that I discovered any issues with it. I liked it well enough, but I had just read about the new Flip Mino and that device seemed like it would be the better choice. The Flip Ultra was on the way back to Amazon and a black Flip Mino was on the way to me.

Did I make a good decision by swapping the Flip Ultra for the Flip Mino?

In a word… You Bet! (okay that was two- sorry)

 
Pure Digital has definitely picked up their game with the Mino.

The packaging is reminiscent of my experience unboxing the MacBook Air and the Samsung Q1. The packaging of the Flip Mino says, "We got it right!"

Inside the box is another box which, upon opening, reveals the Flip Mino.

The accessory box (for what minimal accessories there are) is revealed once the device is removed. 

What’s In The Box?

Not much! Aside from the unit itself it comes with a wrist strap, an instruction manual, a cable for TV-out and a (cheap) cloth carrying bag. (Personally, for $170 I think they could sport for more than a two cent cloth sack.)

Build Quality and Feel

The device itself is quite nice. It just feels better than the Flip Ultra.

While it has similar video specs, it is significantly smaller and lighter than its big-brother the Ultra. Here are a few shots with my iPhone for comparison.

With the exception of the Record button, the buttons on the back of the Flip Ultra have been replaced by a touch panel. This gives the Flip Mino a more solid, "higher end", feel.

At first I was a bit confused. One of the selling points of the Flip Mino for me was the rechargeable battery but a wall charger was nowhere to be found.

"Here we go," I thought to myself, "They charge more, give less and if I don’t have the right charger I’ll have to buy one."

Pure Digital… I owe you an apology for jumping to conclusions.

It turns out a charger does come with the Flip Mino. In fact, it is the most convenient charger possible. All you have to do is release the built-in usb arm, plug it into a powered usb port on your computer and the device not only transfers your recent movies, it also charges itself. Nice!

Video and Sound Quality

As I said, the video and sound are on par with what I experienced with the Flip Ultra. That means that while you won’t be winning any awards at Cannes, you will be able to easily capture life’s various moments with ease and without explaining to your audience, "Okay, while you really can’t make it out easily, that’s Lucy climbing to the top of the Statue of Liberty."

One of the great aspects of the Flip series is the built-in software package. Just connect the unit to your computer and transfer/editing software pops up on both a Windows machine and a Mac.

The software interface is easy to use and, while it is a bit slow, gets the job done.

The Flip Mino records up to two hours of video on its 2GBs of flash memory. It is small and light enough to carry with you everywhere so that you will never again have to say, "Boy, I wish I had my camcorder with me to capture this."

It retails for $179.99 and can be purchased directly from Pure Digital or on line from Amazon (the white model is currently $156.66!)  or many other online and box stores.

Tags: Flip Mino, Camcorder, Flip Ultra

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