You’re gonna Flip over the new Mino from Pure Digital Technologies

Posted on 13 June 2008 by


Pure Digital Technologies has just introduced the newest member of its wildly popular, critically-acclaimed Flip Video family of personal camcorders.

We have just taken delivery of a test unit in glossy black body color with satin trim.

My first reaction?

Wow, is this thing tiny. No larger than a cellphone in fact. And weighs less than my cellphone as well.

Mino (pronounced minnow), available in black or white, records 60 minutes of TV-quality video and audio to the onboard 2GB of flash memory, and uploading to your computer could not be easier – simply “flip” up the USB connector and plug in an available port. Simple. The software (PC or Mac) is loaded on Mino so the unit can be used on almost any computer anywhere.

Users can edit and share videos instantly, create custom movies with their own music, capture still photos from video, save and organize videos on the computer and, for the first time, order and send DVDs anywhere in the world.

The beauty of the new Mino (other than its slick styling) is its simplicity of operation and design. Internal rechargeable lithium ion battery, onboard memory, built-in software, compact size and ultra light weight.

The flat back panel holds the 1.5-inch no-glare display screen above a set of touch-sensitive controls surrounding the larger record button. The plus/minus buttons control playback volume or camera zoom (up to 2x). The left and right arrow buttons let you scroll through recorded videos. And the trash can button allows for instant deletions.
Hey, it even has a threaded tripod mount.

“Video is a major part of the MySpace experience and the Mino’s portable design means MySpace users can capture their life as it happens,” said Josh Brooks, vice president of marketing for MySpace. “We are excited to partner with FLIP and make it easier than ever for MySpace users to directly upload and share content to MySpaceTV.”

Flip Mino is available nationwide at Amazon.com, Bestbuy.com, Circuit City, Sears, Target.com, Walmart.com, TheFlip.com and other national retailers.

Suggested retail price is $179.99 and a quick check on Amazon showed a white Mino model being offered for $156.66.

In-box accessories include TV connection cable (A/V), wrist strap, protective carrying pouch and quick start guide.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be giving Mino a full shakedown and will post my experiences and follow-up impressions afterward.

This post was written by:

- who has written 329 posts on Gear Diary.

David is the editor of AutoworldToday at Today Newspapers in the Dallas suburbs. He is also a webmaster and photographer. He got started doing photography for the newspaper while working as a firefighter/paramedic in one of his towns, and he came to the newspaper group full time in 1992. David entered automotive journalism in 1998 and became AutoworldToday editor in 2002. On the average, he drives some 100 new vehicles each year.He enjoys the great outdoors and as an avid fly fisherman, as is his girlfriend Tish. He especially enjoys nature photography and is inspired by the works of Ansel Adams.

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  • http://www.s-consult.com/index.php Wayne Schulz

    I’m almost definitely in for one of these. I have the older style and it is so easy to use. For a while I took video with my compact camera which supports both still and video.

    The flip is MUCH better quality than what I got via my digital camera.

  • Joel McLaughlin

    I’d like to try this one too. I have a Aiptek camera now with a SD slot and I want something a bit simpler so i can free up the SD card for something useful. This thing would be perfect for Youtube vids.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    Am I the only one who thinks it looks like a digital music player? ;-)

    I can’ wait to see some video samples in your final review, David.

  • http://www.todaynewspapers.net/autoworld_today/ David Goodspeed

    I am doing a dry run of record/battery time right now and the camera is at 1 hr. 14 min. and counting, and battery life indicator has only moved on tick.
    Looks good so far…

  • Joel McLaughlin

    Judie: I think it does! Looks sort of like one of the Cowon or maybe the Jens of Sweden mp3 players.

  • mikeya

    Nice they added an internal rechargeable. We got one of the originals for my son last Christmas and he loves it! Makes great use of it and working with the software is a breeze. Makes me want one myself – it is so tiny it wouldn’t be a hassle to carry around like my Sony DV.