One of the best-selling camcorders on the planet is not some clunky thing from Sony or JVC anymore. It's a tiny thing that looks like an iPod, and it has taken the video world by storm.
The Flip is the holy grail of computing devices — simple to use, reasonably priced and accessible to the masses. And the Flip has solved the biggest issue of all when it comes to video on a computer: how to edit it into little pieces for posting onto Facebook, for e-mailing to your relatives and friends, or for video montages.
The Flip is the first piece of computing gear I thought my wife would consider running off with. As a professional behavior analyst, she struggled for years for a simple way to record various parts of her therapy sessions and make them available in small parts.
For many, solutions such as Adobe Premiere, which edits conventional tape, worked OK if the user had some background in video production. Even programs like Windows Media Maker were often too complex for most users, who just wanted to take a 60-minute tape of something and edit it. The Flip devices have ushered in a new generation of units that are simple and clean.
I used my wife's Flip for the first time last weekend, when I attended my child's music performance. With no instruction, I was able to use the Flip, capture the video effortlessly and, most important, mostly conceal the device in my hand as to not annoy the judges.
When I got home, I was able to plug the device into my USB port with the attached dongle — no cables to find or lose — and immediately download the video to my computer. Because the device uses no tapes and relies on quick flash memory, the transfer was quick and painless. The whole Flip is powered by two AA batteries, so there is no power cable to lose.
The included video-editing package makes the whole process seamless and quick, and you can select to upload the whole thing to a social networking site or edit it into pieces, a video montage with music or any number of other variations.
The Flips feature a 2-inch screen on the back so you can both view what you are recording and review the saved recordings later. It is small but plenty large enough.
The 4GB Ultra model, which costs about $120, will store about two hours of video. If you don't want to keep buying batteries, which last a surprisingly long time, you can use a rechargeable battery pack.
A higher-end HD model, which records 120 minutes of HD video, is about $160. It is probably a better deal if you have an HD television or if you are more into video.
All in all, I am impressed with the Flip and its ease of use. I highly recommend it.
You can get more details at theflip.com.
James Derk is owner of CyberDads, a computer-repair firm and a tech columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim@cyberdads.com.