Hi there, as advised by one of my seniors and a very dear ‘Big B’(Gigesh Gangadharan), I would be posting reviews of gadgets, phones and other electronic items (which I actually have a hands-on on)from time to time on my blog and also under ‘My Notes’ in my Facebook profile.
This time, well, it is a camcorder. The Flip series camcorders were originally manufactured by Pure Digital Technologies, which was then bought over by Cisco. There are three variants currently in the Flip’s line of products, namely:
1. Flip Ultra & Ultra HD
2. Flip Slide & Slide HD
3. Mino HD
For a view on all of their products please go to their site http://www.theflip.com.
I would be reviewing the Flip Ultra, because this is the model I currently have in my possession.
To start off, this is no-fussy camcorder for no-fussy people who want better videos than their digital cameras (7-8 megapixels). The Flip has a very ergonomic design, being the size of the original iPods or disposable cameras. It fits neatly into one palm, leaving your other hand free to help you munch on a piece of cake while shooting your friend being anointed with icing on his/her birthday. Technically speaking, the dimensions are 1.2x2.2x4.2 inches (for those understand who numbers more).
The box of the Flip Ultra is cute; most camcorders do not come with paperback boxing, always having serrated card boxes. Open the box and raise the flaps to reveal the adorable thing. The flaps themselves reveal a great message ‘Shoot Anything’ & ‘Share Everything’. The un-boxing is depicted below. (Images merely depict content, colors may vary). The Flip comes with two disposable AA batteries, a TV-out cable, a safety cord, a soft pouch, manual and a warranty card.
Box Contents -
Let’s move on to the Flip itself; it has a decent 4GB inbuilt storage capable of 2 straight hours of video recording at 640x480 resolution & 30fps (frames per second), has a 2X digital zoom, a 1.5 inch TFT screen for video playback (and function select), a long range microphone and speaker. To get a comparative view of all this, please read on –
a. 640x480 pixels – Imagine yourself sitting at the screen of a CRT monitor of computer 10 years ago, and it has been freshly formatted, sans any driver, the resolution that you get by default is this. Or you can imagine the picture clarity of your television set 5-6 years ago. That will be the picture clarity provided by this little thing.
b. 30 fps – Expanded, 30 frames per second or in more simple terms, 30 unique consecutive images in a second. Your recent computer doles out a minimum of 25-27 fps progressive and HDTVs have a 50-60 fps progressive output. So you can easily imagine the picture clarity. Feel free to ask if you need more explanation.
c. 2X digital zoom – Pretty self-explanatory, you people have camera phones with 2-4X digital zooms. Simply speaking, digital zoom doesn’t allow manual or physical lens movement, just the area of focus is narrowed.
d. 1.5 inch TFT screen – Technically TFT-LCD, shortened to TFT (means Thin-film transistor Liquid Crystal Display). I won’t be explaining what a transistor or crystal means, go to Wikipedia or join a ‘Computers for Dummies’ class if you really want to know. Analogy – the thin panel TVs and monitors you see these days.
Now, for the hands-on, the video that was shot is too big (780 MB for 20 minutes, we get 1 ½ hours movies in that size nowadays!!!), so no question of uploading, (and it wouldn’t be very nice either, just a bunch of guys fooling around, hitting each other :P). But yes, the long range microphone stands true to its name, I got crystal clear recording of audible voices from about 1-2 meters far. Digital zoom is decent enough not to make a smudge of your face or that beautiful creature you saw across the street! Up close, stunning clarity even by the light of the street lamps and passing vehicles. Sound reproduction is monaural (antonym – stereo) but equally balanced and very clear. Hell, you could even listen to the smooch that your friend just got gifted with!
There’s an LED lamp that can optionally light up when you are recording, or you could turn that off for that ‘Peeping Tom’ inside you. Low-lit areas, dark places, you are going to need either a focused light from a supporting hand or Lumos from Harry Potter’s wand :P.
So you are ready to shoot videos, you say? Let’s see all the external controls, shall we? Keeping the TFT screen towards you, the ‘flip’-out USB connector is on the left, slide the panel to release the connector (Oh! So that’s why it is called ‘Flip’! Yeah….); and so also is the TV-out(the cables in the box, remember?). You are already seeing the TFT screen, above is the mini-speaker, below that screen on the left you have the ‘Play’ button that also functions as the ‘Select’ and ‘Accept’ key. Moving on, a smooth D-pad (directional pad, when are you going to get that PSP?) with volume-up/down or zoom-in/out controls and Back/Next controls. The circular red button in the middle doesn’t launch a thermo-nuke, it simply starts and stops a video recording session. And finally on the right of the D-pad, the destructor, ‘Delete’ button, with a dainty ‘Open Recycle Bin’ symbol. Feel to your right (the right side of the device, pervert!), voila, the Power button, and further down is the clip for your safety cord. The bottom-side of the device has a tripod female acceptor and a lock/unlock symbol. Push the slider to the unlock position to reveal the battery case. Plug-in the two available batteries and replace the cover, lock it. Press the power button just like you press the channel number on a TV remote, and instantly press the red button in the center of the device to configure initial start-up. Choice of language is two, namely English and French. After that, you set the date to enable timestamp on your videos, very useful feature, to keep track of your movies. Now you are ready to shoot amazing videos at the drop of a hat!
Once done shooting, attach the Flip to a Windows or Mac through the USB male connector to open the disk drive of Flip to copy the videos to your hard drive, or you can launch the installation of FlipShare, a cool application that allows uploading your videos to Youtube instantly. You can extract snapshots from the videos or cut the movies anyways you want them to be, all available through FlipShare. Plug the device in, and you are good to go!
You can also use rechargeable batteries in the Flip, just like any other digital camera.
Pros –
1. No messy settings for a clear, crisp video
2. Portable as hell, light-weight (AA batteries, so no worries about the special event in your village)
3. Extremely easy to use and maintain, simple design
4. Matte surface, safely-housed lens (rugby players, three cheers!)
5. Long recording time (Oh, so now 2 hours isn’t enough for you?)
6. Monaural recording (Great signal strength, never worry about losing those playful whispers)
7. Economically priced (150 USD or 7000-8000 INR approx.)
8. Better than Creative Vado
Cons –
1. Absence of light can be a problem in video clarity (or video itself!)
2. AA batteries (prone to leakage issues)
3. Light & color, a bit oversaturated and Monaural recording(for those extremely receptive exotic audiophile ears)
4. A bit bulky than the Mino version
5. Comes second to Kodak Zi8 (better in price though, low-light recording at par)
6. Absence of customization in settings (other than time, date, language)
7. Finally………. Not naturally shipped to India or available at a shop near you
So, this concludes the review and I am prepared to give the Flip a decent 8.9 out of 10. So next time when you see your buddies fooling around, or need to catch that memorable laugh of your girlfriend, want to treasure the first smile of your baby, or the look when you surprise your wife on the 25th anniversary and turn to set the camcorder…….. Oh no! The moment’s gone…! Fear not, Flip is here to catch the instant in fluid detail.
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How To Decide On A Phone?
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How To Decide On A Phone?
There are many answer modes to this question, which I would divide into three broad categories (and I would mention no brands) -
1. Basic Phone - Gone are the days when a simple phone capable of making/receiving calls or sending/receiving text messages were termed 'basic'. Nowadays, a basic phone does have a radio, even throwing in an occasional music player or video player. So, segregating phones based on the availability or non-availability of features would not help in a great deal. What you need to focus on is if the features you require function to their very best in the price range you want. More features in a tight wallet doesn't mean you have a better phone, it just means that your phone is a jack-of-all-trades, not making you capable of utilizing any function to the hilt. Check for attenuation of signal strength in all possible handling modes, check for the battery standby time and talktime (after a single full recharge once out of the box), choose a relatively cushioned surface that prevents bouncing and throw the phone with a little force, have the speakers started sounding weird (don't worry, phones are built at least with that much ruggedness). Check the pitch of the voice transmitted, is it sharp or husky. Speakers can be troublesome and can cause nausea if they are not transmitting the proper decibels. Finally, if your handling is that of a player in a rugby match, please try to select earthy colors and matte skin for the exterior and try to minimize the number of accessories like camera, GPS, WiFi down to a minimum.
2. Intermediate - Phones that look good, perform admirably well and somewhat screw your next couple of dinner dates come in this category. They come with the widest array of extras, extra bling, extra megapixels, extra connectivity, extra battery life (supposedly, I don't know how much 'extra' battery life can they squeeze into the 'extra' thin battery of an 'extra' slim phone with a lot of 'extra' extras). These phones can be your companion for well over 1-2 years without the need to change them or trying to do a makeover. Since you have gone for a phone of this range, I am sure you are obsessed with aesthetics, look n feel and like to click whenever you get the chance. So, first off, check your camera's images, it maybe a 3.0 or 5.0 MP, but the image clarity and quality may vary vastly, make sure u see the images on a computer screen at least 17" widescreen or better if you could see them on your HDTV. Next, load up some songs and try out the earphones, check the bass and treble, then sans the earphones, on the phones speakers itself. Moving on, squeeze yourself into some tight corners to see actually how effective the GPS is. If the hit ratio is close to 60% accurate, you need not worry. Check the internal modem if you got WiFi, by seeing how is the signal reception, get a 3G enabled card to check for 3G GPRS connectivity. Finally, get a mist sprayer and carefully spray a thin layer of water on the screen and wipe it off after 5-10 seconds, see if a fog has formed inside, if yes, wait for an hour or so and return the phone for another piece.
3. Do-you-REALLY-need-this? - Now coming to the phones that easily take off the burden of your monthly salary off your shoulders, so you don't have to plan your budget. These phones have state-of-the-art technology, HD output, Camera clarity which would give digi-cams a run for their money, occasionally gold/silver plated. Buyers enthusiastic about these generally go in for one or two specific features to boast of, or for the extreme exotic nature. So my advice to them, just pay attention to what you NEED, not to everything else. If you are being more than generous with your money, you better have something to gloat about. Most PDAs, and jewelery phones come under this category.
So, if you are intent on buying a phone, check out the specs on its website, Google for it on forums before going to the shop itself, it will make you more of a master on its aspects, and you can ignore Mr. "May I help you Sir" until you have decided to pay for it........
Congratulations on your next purchase....
1. Basic Phone - Gone are the days when a simple phone capable of making/receiving calls or sending/receiving text messages were termed 'basic'. Nowadays, a basic phone does have a radio, even throwing in an occasional music player or video player. So, segregating phones based on the availability or non-availability of features would not help in a great deal. What you need to focus on is if the features you require function to their very best in the price range you want. More features in a tight wallet doesn't mean you have a better phone, it just means that your phone is a jack-of-all-trades, not making you capable of utilizing any function to the hilt. Check for attenuation of signal strength in all possible handling modes, check for the battery standby time and talktime (after a single full recharge once out of the box), choose a relatively cushioned surface that prevents bouncing and throw the phone with a little force, have the speakers started sounding weird (don't worry, phones are built at least with that much ruggedness). Check the pitch of the voice transmitted, is it sharp or husky. Speakers can be troublesome and can cause nausea if they are not transmitting the proper decibels. Finally, if your handling is that of a player in a rugby match, please try to select earthy colors and matte skin for the exterior and try to minimize the number of accessories like camera, GPS, WiFi down to a minimum.
2. Intermediate - Phones that look good, perform admirably well and somewhat screw your next couple of dinner dates come in this category. They come with the widest array of extras, extra bling, extra megapixels, extra connectivity, extra battery life (supposedly, I don't know how much 'extra' battery life can they squeeze into the 'extra' thin battery of an 'extra' slim phone with a lot of 'extra' extras). These phones can be your companion for well over 1-2 years without the need to change them or trying to do a makeover. Since you have gone for a phone of this range, I am sure you are obsessed with aesthetics, look n feel and like to click whenever you get the chance. So, first off, check your camera's images, it maybe a 3.0 or 5.0 MP, but the image clarity and quality may vary vastly, make sure u see the images on a computer screen at least 17" widescreen or better if you could see them on your HDTV. Next, load up some songs and try out the earphones, check the bass and treble, then sans the earphones, on the phones speakers itself. Moving on, squeeze yourself into some tight corners to see actually how effective the GPS is. If the hit ratio is close to 60% accurate, you need not worry. Check the internal modem if you got WiFi, by seeing how is the signal reception, get a 3G enabled card to check for 3G GPRS connectivity. Finally, get a mist sprayer and carefully spray a thin layer of water on the screen and wipe it off after 5-10 seconds, see if a fog has formed inside, if yes, wait for an hour or so and return the phone for another piece.
3. Do-you-REALLY-need-this? - Now coming to the phones that easily take off the burden of your monthly salary off your shoulders, so you don't have to plan your budget. These phones have state-of-the-art technology, HD output, Camera clarity which would give digi-cams a run for their money, occasionally gold/silver plated. Buyers enthusiastic about these generally go in for one or two specific features to boast of, or for the extreme exotic nature. So my advice to them, just pay attention to what you NEED, not to everything else. If you are being more than generous with your money, you better have something to gloat about. Most PDAs, and jewelery phones come under this category.
So, if you are intent on buying a phone, check out the specs on its website, Google for it on forums before going to the shop itself, it will make you more of a master on its aspects, and you can ignore Mr. "May I help you Sir" until you have decided to pay for it........
Congratulations on your next purchase....
