Flip to the Future With the Flip SlideHD Camcorder
As part of their expanding line up, Cisco is releasing the Flip SlideHD. After hearing that many customers never download videos to their computer, the Flip SlideHD was created with a wider screen for a better viewing experience. What sets this baby apart from previous models (besides the HD, duh!), is the ability to lift the 3-inch widescreen display up and out to reveal a touch slide where you are able to view your saved videos with the swipe of your finger.
Easy as pie, right? We thought so. We must concede that the 16GB of internal storage, equivalent to up to 4 hours of HD video or 12 hours of SD video, is an improvement from previous models. The HD video recording is capped at 720p (1280×720 at 30fps), which is the same as the Mino HD, but we loved the interface.
The software was pre-loaded and almost painfully simple to organize and view. We smoothly downloaded it to our Dell laptop without interruptions — though the downloading was a little slow with larger file sizes of course.
The menu and functions on this camera are intuitive, though it doesn’t allow for a variety of functionality. We were able to stream our flicks from the HDMI-out port to our TV and PC (a 3-inch screen didn’t seem right when we had more than 2 people in the room).
The 2x digital zoom and expanded memory are breakthroughs for Cisco, though we wished the zoom carried us out farther. We had a somewhat limited zoom range which makes close-up shots of moving images a bit awkward. After practice, we were able to steady our image better, but it is definitely a work in progress.
This model still has no line-in audio jack or 60fps 720p recording, let alone 1080p. If you’re looking for a less expensive investment, consider the Oregon Scientific ATC3K, which is a little lower quality but boosts a cheaper price tag.
We were able to purchase Flip SlideHD from Amazon at around $280. In an effort to entice buyers, Flip SlideHD is allowing you to choose your own skin, including a set of Hello Kitty designs or your own favorite photo uploaded to their site. Should you go this route, Cisco says the prints will not peel or fade with time, although they can be scratched.
