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For those waiting to see what Flip Video will have for the holiday season, the company is about to ship an upgraded, "premium" version of its MinoHD pocket camcorder for $229.99.

In a nod to Apple, the new model is called the MinoHD, second-generation, and features a brushed metal body, double the internal memory (8GB vs. 4GB), a larger, 2-inch LCD, and an HDMI connection, though no cable is included.

Flip's designers have also rounded off the corners of the unit (it does look sleeker) and tweaked the FlipShare software package to include direct uploads to Facebook (MySpace and YouTube links were already available) and a new Movie Magic mode that takes your clips and automatically arranges them into a "movie."

Other than that, nothing else has changed. Like its older sibling, this model offers 720p video capture and two hours of battery life from its integrated lithium-ion battery. Flip Video has yet to add the electronic image stabilization or macro mode found on Kodak's Zi8, which also features 1080p capture.

The new MinoHD is available in silver or you can get a custom finish at no extra charge if you order the unit from the Flip website. Meanwhile, the original MinoHD ($199.99) remains on sale along with the standard-def Mino ($149.99).

We've been playing around with the new model for a couple of days and it's definitely nicer, though we can't say it's a huge upgrade. If the difference in price was really only $30, we'd say go for this guy, but we're seeing the original MinoHD discounted to around $170 online, which may create a buying dilemma.

Read the CNET review of the Flip MinoHD (second generation).

Comments?

The iPhone's new video capture and sharing may be a double-edged sword for YouTube.

(Credit: Apple)

With the introduction of the the new iPhone 3G S, one of the features iPhone aficionados are most excited about is the addition of video recording. Never mind that this feature has been available in a lot of other cell phones for a while; the point is, it's finally here, and that's a good thing, especially when Apple has taken the pocket camcorder concept to a whole new level with the integration of some basic onboard editing tools, geotagging, and, most importantly, a wireless distribution system that allows you to easily share your iPhone clips via e-mail, MMS, or by uploading them directly to YouTube (and MobileMe) with a touch of a button (see Apple's demo).

On the surface, this would appear to be excellent news for YouTube and should rather frighten Flip Video, which has seen its YouTube-friendly pocket camcorders take a nice chunk of the camcorder market (recent sales figures indicate that digital pocket models like the Flip, the Creative Vado HD, and the Kodak Zx1, have captured over 25 percent of the camcorder market in the U.S.). ... Read more

(Credit: VHoldR)

Yes, you could, in theory, strap the Flip MinoHD to your ski helmet, hit record, and see what happens. But a couple of companies are making extreme YouTube-friendly camcorders, and VHoldR's second-generation model is billed as "the first HD wearable camcorder."

VHoldR says it maintained the simplicity from its earlier standard-definition camcorder, but "seriously improved" the video quality, field of view, memory capacity, and the audio experience in the ContourHD. The camcorder is powered by a removable, rechargeable, lithium ion battery. It has a slot for a microSD card (it accepts cards up to 16GB for 8 hours of recording time), a wide-angle lens (135 degrees), and a laser-guided alignment system.

The ContourHD will be available in May for $300. To view video samples, visit VholdR.com.

Also worth checking out: the GoPro Hero, a competing extreme video recorder.

(Credit: Kodak)

Last year, Kodak was first out the gate with an HD minicamcorder, the Zi6. That model was pretty good and won some fans for its decent video quality and relatively large LCD display. This year, Kodak's sticking with much the same as far as the guts of the camcorder, but it's evolved to a more rugged design that's geared toward consumers with "action and adventure in mind."

The $149.99 Zx1 incorporates the same 1/4.5-inch 1.6-megapixel sensor as the Zi6. However, according to Kodak, it has upgraded the processor in this model, which appears to make the camcorder zippier than its predecessor. It's also shrunk the LCD from 2.4 inches to 2 inches. But the Zx1 is still bigger than most of its competitors, particularly the Flip Video MinoHD. Even so, it's pretty compact and fits in most pockets.

Does it all add up to a Flip killer?

Read the full review to find out.

See also: Pocket HD camcorders compared

(Credit: Creative)

Several people have e-mailed me wondering when we'd have our review up of the Creative Vado HD mini camcorder. Well, now it's up, and the big question everyone is asking is whether it's better than the Flip Video Mino HD. The short answer is yes--and no.

Basically, the Vado HD's video quality isn't quite as good the Mino HD's. But its feature set is superior. So, it's a tough call.

Read the full review of the Creative Vado HD.

Amazon is selling the Vado HD for $200.

(Credit: Amazon)

Things are heating up in the HD mini camcorder space as Creative gets set to release its new Vado HD next week. The camcorder retains many of the design traits of the original Vado but it doesn't share the exact same body. However, it does have something that neither the Kodak Zi6 nor the Flip Video Mino HD has: an HDMI connection (plus an included cable) for outputting 1080i video to your HDTV. And it comes with 8GB of built-in memory--all for around $200.

In our review of the Vado, we knocked it a bit for being pretty no frills, and Creative seems to have taken that to heart. Along with the HDMI cable, it's throwing in a protective case and a real software package for tweaking your videos after you shoot them. Like the Mino HD, it captures H.264 AVI videos at 30fps with a 1,280x720 CMOS sensor and gives you about 2 hours of battery life from its removable rechargeable battery. You can also shoot 640x480 VGA video if you want.

On paper, the Vado HD looks good, but the big question is, how will its video quality compare to that of the Mino HD and Zi6? We'll be getting a review sample shortly, so we'll hopefully have a full review up by early next week. The Vado HD lists for $229, but Amazon is taking preorders at $200 and we expect the price to stay there.

Comments anyone?

The Mino HD looks identical to the regular Mino.

(Credit: Pure Digital Technologies)

With Kodak and RCA putting out so-called HD versions of their YouTube-friendly mini camcorders, we knew it was only a matter of time before Pure Digital Technologies, the maker of Flip Video mini camcorders, put out an HD model of its own.

Calling it the "world's smallest HD camcorder," the $229 Flip Mino HD looks identical to the standard-definition Flip Mino. It weighs just over 3 ounces, boasts 720p resolution, and has 4GB of memory that allows for 60 minutes of recording time. The release also says that the Flip Mino HD features "all-new built-in FlipShare software for easy saving, organizing and sharing of video from your computer." We're not sure how it's different from the software on the existing Mino, but when we get more details, we'll let you know.

Like the standard Mino, you'll be able to customize the look of the Mino HD at theflip.com/store. I did an earlier post on the whole customization thing, and the one drawback is that while the service is free, you do pay the full $229 list price for the product. Most likely, the Mino HD will retail for less on Amazon and other online stores--I'd guess $199.

We'll be getting a review unit in the next few days and have a review up soon. Naturally, we're curious to see just how good the video quality is. In reviewing Kodak's Zi6, we had this to say: "The Kodak Zi6 is technically an HD camcorder the way a tomato is technically a fruit: it meets the definition, but doesn't deliver the experience. True, the Zi6 records video in 1,280x720-pixel resolution at both 30 frames per second and 60fps--720p resolution--which technically qualifies it as an HD camcorder, but a lot of factors go into creating an image, not just a CMOS sensor capable of capturing an image at a certain resolution and frame rate." We expect to have a similar experience with the Mino HD, but Pure Digital Technologies has managed to keep the video quality of its mini camcorders slightly ahead of the pack, so maybe the same will prove true here.

Any comments?