My Tech Talk

The Flip Mino Video Camcorder and other “mini camcorders” look to be a hot ticket item this holiday season. The Flip Mino is getting a lot of buzz. It is a cell phone sized camcorder with built in memory and built in software for easy editing, emailing and uploading onto the web. In fact, its built-in, easy to use software may be the feature that distinguishes the Flip from other competing products.

There are other products within this “Mini Camcorder” category that you should consider as well.

Below is a collection of information and links to review regarding the Flip Mino (sometimes mistakenly spelled “Mimo”), RCA Small Wonder EZ200 series, Kodak Zi6, Best Buy’s Insignia and Creative Vado.

1. The Flip Video Mino

• Price range from MySimon: $150 and up
• Product web site: TheFlip.com
• Read reviews from Best Buy Customers
• Read 253 (and counting) reviews from Amazon customers
• New(er) feature: Buy the camera from TheFlip.com site and choose (or create) a custom design.
• Typical features: Built-in software, 2 GB internal flash memory, no media slot for expansion memory, internal battery.
  

2. RCA Small Wonder EZ200 Series

• Read a review and see a video demo on Cnet.
• Price Range from MySimon: $85-$99
• Product web site: MySmallWonder.com
  
• Read reviews from Amazon customers
• Key differences from the Flip Mino: Lower price, media slot for memory expansion, flip out LCD display.

3. Kodak Zi6

• Price range from MySimon: $179.99 (site lists Amazon.com as only seller)
• Product web site: Kodak.com
• Read reviews from Amazon customers.
• Read a product review from Cnet.
• Key differences from Flip Mino: HD camcorder, larger size, media slot for memory expansion (which is essential), only 128 MB onboard memory with 30 MB reserved for storage, rechargeable batteries.

4. Insignia 5.0 MP Digital Camcorder (Best Buy exclusive)

• Price at Best Buy: $99.99
• Product web site: BestBuy.com
• Read reviews from Best Buy customers.
• Key differences from Flip Mino: Swivel LCD display, uses 2 AA batteries, 64 MB internal memory, media slot for expansion memory.
  

5. Creative Vado

• Price range from MySimon: $79-$107
• Product web site: Creative Labs
• Read reviews from Amazon customers.
• Read review and watch a demo video from Cnet.
• Key differences from Flip Mino: Lower price

A camcorder like these make it easy to capture life’s spontaneous moments and share them online. While the Flip Mino has gotten the buzz, there are other products with similar features and lower price tags for those keeping an eye on their holiday budgets this year.

Click here for a side by side comparison by CNet of most of these “You Tube” camcorders.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 9th, 2008 at 6:05 am and is filed under Gadgets/Hardware, News/Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.