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Switched On: Flip-flops
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. This week's announcement that Cisco is shuttering its Flip Video business was but the latest twist in the history of the market share-leading device. The Flip got its start after its creator, Pure Digital, modified its original disposable camcorder to be reusable after hackers showed it could be done. And its success continued to defy convention that the product would resonate against a slew of digital cameras and increasingly competent smartphones that could shoot competitive -- and even high definition -- video. The Flip also soared above the market share of companies with far stronger brands such as Sony and Kodak, although the latter made gains on a string of hits, including the 1080p-shooting Zi8 and waterproof PlaySport. It even fought back an initial foray from Apple's iPod nano and was still holding its own after the debut of the latest iPod touch, which took the HD video capture feature from the iPhone and made it available without a contract. Yes, the Flip hung tough. That's why its cancellation says volumes about Cisco, the company that acquired it for some $590 million in stock. Cisco needed to show growth with a consumer product line that could not be easily augmented with acquisitions and that derived little connection with the mother brand -- even less than Linksys, the company's networking line. Cisco certainly tried. But the Flip group made a few false moves that stuck out like a pop-out USB connector, and with little of that spring-loaded joy.
Flip Slide HD review
Sure, it was leaked over a week early, but the Flip Slide HD is still quite a surprise in many ways. If you'd asked us to bet, we'd have put money on the next Flip camera including minor-but-important enhancements like image stabilization and perhaps a 1080p sensor with better low-light performance. After all, competitive products like the Kodak Zi8 and Sony Bloggie get great reviews for these simple incremental feature additions, and it's been nearly a year and a half since the original Flip Mino HD came out. But apparently you get to play by different rules when you own nearly 40 percent of the "shoot and share" camera market, and Flip's latest cam eschews the spec upgrade game in favor of repackaging the Mino HD into a radical new form factor with a tilt-slide screen that's designed as much for playback as it is for recording. It's an interesting take on sharing video, but we can't say it's worth it -- especially not for $279. Read on for our full review. %Gallery-90845%
Flip Slide HD officially official, on sale now
After a week of essentially non-stop leaks from Best Buy, Cisco's finally coming clean with the Flip Slide HD, the newest member of its Flip family. Obviously the big feature here is that pop-up three-inch screen -- when folded down and in record mode, it's a resistive touchscreen version of the Flip Mino button layout, but when it's time to play back you can pop it open for easy viewing. Thankfully, it's got a headphone jack in addition to stereo speakers and HDMI out, so you don't have to annoy everyone around you during playback. Camera-wise, the Slide is identical to the Flip Mino HD, so you're getting 720p video with no image stabilization, although storage has been bumped to 16GB for four hours of record time and 12 hours of compressed video storage. We'll be honest and say we're on the fence about resistive here, especially since that capacitive touch slider control below the screen in the open position suggests the touchscreen isn't responsive enough for navigation, but plenty of Flips get used on ski slopes and during other glove-intensive activities, so we can see the resistive rationale. We're less ambivalent about the $279 price tag, though -- for that money you can get any number of very nice HD video-capable point-and-shoot cameras with three-inch screens, all of which offer better lenses, better sensors, and image stabilization. Our review unit is due to arrive imminently, so we'll wait to use one before we make up our minds -- but if don't want to wait for us you can buy one from Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, and theflip.com right this second. %Gallery-90352% %Gallery-90353%
Flip Slide HD inevitably sold early by Best Buy
At this point it would have been more surprising if Best Buy hadn't just gone ahead and sold the Flip Slide HD before its official launch -- we've been getting leaked info and product shots from the retailer for a week now, and it was really only a matter of time before someone went home with one. That someone is our new favorite reader Scott Peterson, who nabbed one at the Roseville, California store for $279 and was kind enough to send in this photo and a quick video of the pocket cam in action. It looks like... a pretty chunky Flip with a slideout touchscreen instead of real buttons. We're also seeing a headphone jack in addition to HDMI out, which no other Flip has had, so we're guessing this thing is geared towards on-the-go playback as well as recording. Cute. Unfortunately we won't know what's what for sure until Cisco actually confirms that this thing is real -- and at this point it might as well just get it over with, as we're sure Best Buy is busy leaking the next model already. Video after the break. [Thanks, Scott]
Flip Slide HD caught outside the box, still looks weird
Maybe it's just the odd angle of this newly submitted out-of-box photograph, or maybe we just aren't smart enough for Cisco, but we still we can't quite figure out what exactly is going on here. We suppose the flip-up screen performs as a sort of poor man's photo frame? At risk of being rude, we're pretty sure we'd just like a thinner video camera, but when it comes to selling millions dirt cheap, dirt simple video cameras to the masses, the makers of the seemingly imminent Flip Slide HD are of course the experts. [Thanks, anonymous]
Flip S1240W priced at $280 in Best Buy's systems, reads an awful lot like 'Slide HD' to us
Our army of Best Buy informants has struck again, this time delivering an internal systems entry that references an S1240W model from Cisco's consumer division, described as a digital camcorder. Aside from the obvious appearance of the Flip name in the top right corner, the retail box dimensions listed herein -- 7.7 by 1.5 by 3.6 inches -- seem an almost perfect match for the recently spied Flip Slide HD product box. At that time, we were furnished with supplemental pics pointing out 16GB of built-in storage for up to four hours of video, and today we can add a price and potential release date to the dossier. April 18 is the reputed "in stock" date for this Flip shooter, with a $280 "regular retail" price shown on the other snapshot we've come across (see it after the break). That means we've only got a few days of mystery left before Cisco flips the covers away. [Thanks, Jae]
Flip Slide HD caught at Best Buy, slides into camera's view (updated)
All we have is this one image, care of a gracious anonymous tipster who said it was found at Best Buy. Our best guess? Well, it's a Flip camcorder, and there's a sliding element to it -- amazing deduction skills, we know. Perhaps Cisco has something up its sleeve soon? Inquiring minds want to know. Update: We got some more pics in from a tipster -- they're after the break!
