New Flip MinoHD Gets Slimmer Design, Beefier Memory

We’ve long had a gadget love affair with the Flip line of digital camcorders ever since the first blocky device came out. Since then we’ve had several iterations, and they’ve only gotten better with each revision. The latest version of the Flip MinoHD is no exception. The latest Flip is slimmer than its predecessors and holds more memory.

Besides the obviously thinner profile, the MinoHD is still similar in design to the previous model. However, you’ll quickly notice the display screen on the back of the device is bigger than before. In terms of inches, the screen isn’t too much bigger (it measures 2 inches diagonally now), but it sure feels bigger, which isn’t hard considering how small the previous screens were. The little screen should look pretty good too, since it almost reaches HD levels of resolution with the 960 x 240 pixels. Okay, okay, emphasis on the almost, but still it should look better overall than any Mino screen that came before.

The recording capability hasn’t improved too much, it still films in HD and it has better low-light performance than many other camcorders. The HD camera films at 1280 x 720 resolution. But the biggest improvement for those who use HD a lot is the inclusion of an HDMI output port right on the device. Now you can immediately hook it up to an HDTV and watch what you’ve filmed.
The amount of storage in the MinoHD has doubled to 8GB, which will give you 2 hours of recording time at 720p resolution. Coincidentally (probably not), the battery also lasts for 2 hours of filming and charges in the same way all Flip cameras do: with a flip-out USB connector.

We’re also excited about some improvements to the included software. It was pretty bare-bones before, so any improvements are welcome. These improvements include minor editing and trimming features, so you’ll be able to do a little more editing without the need of external software. The MinoHD also supports instant upload to Facebook, MySpace and Youtube, so you’ll be getting your social network groove on in no time.

All that comes with a price tag of $230, which isn’t great, but is still fairly standard.

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