p1020628

When it was announced that the new iPhone 3G S would not only include video recording but onboard editing and uploading as well, I was of two minds.

One part of me was excited. Clearly this would be something I would be using a lot. After all, although the iPhone 3G’s camera wasn’t the best, it was with me all the time and, as a result, it is the camera I use the most. The ability to take pictures on the go, do some basic (and not so basic) editing and upload them to the web is fantastic. The thought of having the ability to do video in the same way was nothing short of awesome.

The other part of me, however, was concerned about the impact that this would have on a little device I have come to truly appreciate- my Flip Video camcorder. What impact, I wondered, would the iPhone have on Flip Video’s growing dominance in the portable video market?  And what, if anything, would Flip do to respond? We have some early answers in the form of a new service just being announced.
I’m a huge fan of Flip Video and their various portable video devices. I purchased one of their Mino video recorders a number of months ago and love it.

And when the company sent me one of their new UltraHD cameras to review I was even more impressed. The quality of the video is excellent, and the sound quite good, particularly in light of the small size of the camera.

flipshare

And I especially love the easy to use, onboard software that pops up automatically as soon as you plug the device into a computer’s USB port. It allows you to edit, save, add titles, and even upload directly to services such as YouTube without having to install any software on the computer itself. The seamless integration between hardware and software has made creating short videos much easier than ever before.

So what effect will the release of iPhone 3G S this Friday have on Flip? Would it pull the rug out from under them. The short answer is- no. It will have impact but there remains a huge market for Flip. I say this for two reasons.

The first has to do with the iPhone itself.

In the same way that I have to good cameras but often find myself using the iPhone’s camera because it’s with me, I suspect that I will, more often than not, start shooting video using my iPhone this coming Friday. But let’s be clear, the video quality coming from the iPhone, while apparently decent, will be no match for the video taken by my UltraHD camera. Not by a longshot. If I want quick video the iPhone will be great. If I want fairly high quality video and convenience I will still be using my UltraHD.

In addition, word from anthropologists is that there are still some human beings on the planet who have not yet evolved far enough to begin using an iPhone to remain part of the Verizon, T-Mobile, or Sprint tribal groups. :-) In all seriousness, the new Palm Pre doesn’t include video recording at all and many of the phones that do do not do it all that well. And NONE onboard editing to the level Apple has. As a result there is a huge market that will remain untapped by Apple until such time as they add a camera to the iPod touch. So there remains a huge market for the Flip.

The second reason Flip will remain competitive has to do with… the people at Flip.

They aren’t just sitting back and waiting to see what happens. They aren’t going to be the buggy who watches the Model-T “roar” by. Apple is innovating… and so are they. First with the release of HD cameras a few months ago and now this… Flip Channels.

Flip has just announced the release of their next generation video sharing service. The new version makes sharing video publicly or privately easier than ever before. Now, in addition to quickly uploading video to YouTube and MySpace, you can create your own video channel and upload video to it. Then, with a few clicks of a trackpad, you can invite whomever you want to view them.

flipshare

I’ve been using it for a week and find that it brings the same simple, intuitive workings of both the camera hardware and the Flip Share software to upload videos to share with others. Just a few seconds after loading the software I had created a channel and invited Judie, Wayne and Larry to it. Simple and fast!

As the press release states –

Flip share now gives users the ability to publish personal video channels online with flip channels, in addition to easy uploading to popular sites like MySpace and YouTube, and one click Pvt. video e-mailing capabilities. The innovative new flip channels feature enables users to easily share their favorite flip content with groups of people they designate. Once created, their personal flip channels can be instantly viewed online at flipshare.com or an iPhone. Yes, that’s right, not only are the folks at Flip announcing a new service as part of their Flip Share software, but during a week when iPhone news dominates they are bringing THEIR unique approach to video sharing to the iPhone itself.

The new version of the software will begin shipping on all new camcorders as of today. If you already have one of the camcorders you can download the new version for free by visiting www.theflip.com.

In addition, the iPhone application can be downloaded right from the iPhone app store. (We’ll have a review as soon as it is live.)

And if that wasn’t enough — we even have an announcement here at Gear Diary. A bunch of us have Flip camcorders and it only seemed to make sense that we would start our own flip shared channel — and we have. GearDiary.com. For an invite shoot us an email.

The full release follows…

Flip Video™ Introduces Next-Generation Personal Video Sharing

Latest FlipShare™ software makes it simple to share video publicly, privately, or with groups

June 16, 2009 – San Francisco, CA

Taking video sharing to a new level, the makers of Flip Video today announced the latest version of its onboard FlipShare software that makes sharing personal video easier than ever before. FlipShare now gives users the ability to publish personal video channels online with Flip Channels™, in addition to easy uploading to popular sites like MySpace™ and YouTube™, and one-click private video emailing capabilities.

The innovative new Flip Channels feature enables users to easily share their favorite Flip content with groups of people they designate. Once created, their personal Flip Channels can be instantly viewed online at FlipShare.com or on an iPhone by using the new FlipShare iPhone application, also announced today.

“Flip Video changed the way people use video by making it simple to capture and fun to share,” said Jonathan Kaplan, senior vice president and general manager of the Consumer Business Group at Cisco, which recently acquired Pure Digital Technologies, makers of Flip Video products. “Our latest FlipShare software, with the new Flip Channels feature, takes video sharing to the next level by making it incredibly easy to share video with a friend, a group, or with the world.”

With FlipShare’s new Flip Channels feature, consumers now have a simple way to share their favorite Flip content – both video and snapshots – with many different groups such as friends, family, classmates or teams. Once a user creates a Flip Channel, it can be viewed online at FlipShare.com or on an iPhone using the breakthrough FlipShare application for the iPhone. This new application gives FlipShare users, as well as their friends and family, instant access to their favorite Flip Video content from anywhere.

These latest software innovations build upon the success of the wildly popular Flip Video camcorder line. Since its launch in 2007, more than 2 million Flip Video camcorders have been sold and millions of videos have been shared using FlipShare software. Flip Video models are ranked as the number one and number two top-selling camcorders in the U.S. for the first quarter 2009, as ranked by leading market research firm The NPD Group.

The new version of FlipShare software will begin shipping as the onboard software for all Flip Video camcorders as of June 16, 2009. The software can also be downloaded for free by visiting www.theflip.com. The FlipShare for iPhone application is available for free in the iPhone App Store.

FlipShare Software Features:

• Preloaded software to save, organize, and edit videos with ease

• Works on any PC or Mac

• Email videos and video greeting cards

• Upload videos instantly to YouTube and MySpace

• Capture HD snapshots from videos using enhanced freeze-frame capabilities and share them along with videos

• Create Flip Channels to share content privately with groups of friends or family or to access your own content on the web

• Watch videos on-the-go at flipshare.com

• Create custom movies with your own music

• Enjoy your videos in full-screen play mode

• Order DVDs and have them shipped anywhere in the world

FlipShare Application for iPhone Features:

• View your favorite FlipShare videos and snapshots on your iPhone

• Access Flip Channels instantly from anywhere

• Watch Flip Channels from friends and family

• Download for free at the iPhone App Store

About Pure Digital Technologies, Inc.

Pure Digital Technologies was acquired by Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) in May of 2009 and operates as part of Cisco’s Consumer Business Group. Its revolutionary Flip Video camcorders changed the way people capture and share video by making it simple, accessible and fun for anyone. Flip Video camcorders are pre-loaded with FlipShare software to enable easy organizing, editing, and seamless uploading to YouTubeTM, MySpaceTM Video and other video sharing sites. Flip Video products are currently available in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. More information about Flip Video products can be found at www.TheFlip.com.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Cisco’s vision for the consumer is to enable people to live a connected life that is more personal, more social, and more visual. More information about Cisco and its line of consumer products can be found at www.cisco.com/consumer.

How you would like to subscribe to Gear Diary? We offer:

Related posts:

  1. Flip Video Introduces Next Generation Flip MinoHD
  2. Flip VideoTM Introduces Flip UltraTM and Flip UltraHDTM
  3. Your Valentine Will Flip Over This
  4. Flip UltraHD – Review
  5. Will The Next iPhone Transform Mobile Video Forever?