The Mino abides.
(Credit: Flip Video)The other day I got an e-mail from the folks at Flip Video telling me that on October 14 they'd be launching a new online service that would let consumers design custom versions of the Flip Mino minicamcorder. They were going to send me a Mino with one of the company's new stock "custom" designs on it, but they also said I could take the beta site for a test run and design my own Mino. So, I did.
The process is quite simple. You just upload an image--it helps to have something with ample resolution--and that image is grafted onto a virtual Mino. You can then make some tweaks and position the image to your liking. (Check this all out at theflip.com).
If you don't want to use your own image, you have a few other options. You can choose from several stock designs or use the Design Generator to create a custom pattern. In the coming weeks, Flip Video will also be adding hundreds of user-generated designs to the "design marketplace" on theflip.com and cafepress.com. If you're designer, you can opt to post your Mino design online and Flip Video will pay you a $10 royalty every time someone buys a Mino with your design.
I have to say, this is pretty brilliant. Mix a community-based element with little viral element (you can share your designs) and you can see how something like this can be a boon to sales. Also, buying a batch of Minos emblazoned with a company logo would obviously appeal to certain organizations.
In case you're wondering, except for the exterior finish, this Mino is exactly the same as the current Mino, which is the No. 2 bestselling camcorder on Amazon after its step-down sibling, the Flip Video Ultra. The only problem I see with the whole system is the custom Mino carries the full list price of the product ($179.99), whereas the Mino on Amazon and other online outlets costs $25-$30 less. For a lot of people, that extra premium won't seem worth it.
Is more customization in the cards for electronics products? Sure, we've seen lots of accessories for cell phones and engravings for the back of iPods, but it doesn't seem like much of a leap for companies like Apple to charge a premium for custom paint jobs. Leave a comment and let us know what you think.
Is the HD-A2's sub-$400 price tag sparking sales?
(Credit: Toshiba)Just got an e-mail from the PR firm representing HD DVD, and the North American HD DVD Promotional Group has announced that "sales of dedicated HD DVD consumer electronics players reached more than 100K units sold in the United States, ahead of any other high definition format." I'm not sure why, but that figure doesn't include sales of HD DVD PC drives or the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, which the group says, "are also selling strongly."
I presume that Team HD DVD may not want to compare total HD DVD hardware sales to total Blu-ray hardware sales, which includes sales of PS3 units. But that would be cynical of me. For now let's just applaud the 100K figure, leave it at that, and wait for The Big Lebowski to come out on HD DVD next month. (There was something in the press release about The Complete Matrix Trilogy coming in May from Warner Home Video, but that's not "The One" I'm looking forward to).
'This Blu-ray aggression will not stand, man.'
Universal, currently the only studio that releases titles exclusively on HD DVD, was eerily quiet at CES, fueling speculation that its support for HD DVD was waning. Well, late yesterday, the studio helped quell those rumors by announcing that it would be releasing 100 new exclusive titles in HD DVD format in 2007, including a CNET office favorite, The Big Lebowski.
The company didn't reveal all the new titles--or their release dates--but said that 40 to 50 would be available in the first half of the year and that 90 percent of them will be DVD/HD DVD combo discs. Brokeback Mountain, currently available, and Hollywoodland, due to arrive on February 6, are the first discs to hit stores, followed later in the year by other new films including Children of Men and The Good Shepherd.
Universal's also pulling some good stuff from its classics catalog. Scarface, Meet the Fockers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, American Pie, Slap Shot, and Brazil are among those joining Lebowski in the fight against Blu-ray. The first season of Sci-Fi's Battlestar Galactica is also scheduled to be released on HD DVD (no word yet on the date), but E.T., Back to the Future, Jaws, and Jurassic Park didn't make the list.
So, good news for HD DVD--and Lebowski--fans. As The Dude would say, there are a lot of ins, outs, what-have-yous, and strands to keep track of in the next-generation DVD format war.
For a more complete list of Universal HD DVD titles, go to The Digital Bits. Editor Bill Hunt got a chance to speak with senior Universal reps about their HD DVD support and says he'll file his full report in the coming days.
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