Call me a skeptic but I hate advertising telling me that something is so small it can fit into the pocket of my tightest jeans. There's nothing like getting excited about a nifty new product or gadget only to find out that the exaggeration factor is high. I've had enough of that with face creams and kitchen tools so the last thing I wanted was to get my Flip Mino and have it be hard to use, bulky or poorly made.
First of all, when they say it can fit into the pocket of your tightest jeans they aren't lying. I pulled on my favorite pair or snug pants and stuffed it into the front pocket and sat down. It fit very nicely, even in the smaller pockets we gals get with our low rise jeans. But could I put it in my teeny-tiny purse? That was the true test for me since my husband recently bought me a gorgeous little one on a business trip. I had to downsize EVERYTHING I normally keep in there just to fit my wallet. I had just enough room to stick it in there with everything.
Well if it fit into small spaces it must work like crap right? Or worse yet--be hard to use!
My poor cats got to be my test subjects when I first pulled it out, so of course they sat there and looked at me like I was dumb. After a few minutes of making silly comments about them while they thumped their tails and blinked at me I plugged the Mino into my computer (which was so easy since the USB arm is right there). The software didn't load immediately so I looked at the very simple instruction sheet and got it started loading. I'd watched my video on the Mino before this but wasn't sure how the quality would come out once I saved it to my computer.
The program was quite easy to follow, I found it to be pretty fool proof. I think I could teach my 90+ year old great-grandpa how to use this with ease. I even considered letting my 8-year-old give it a try to see if it was really that easy but hey! This is my new toy! So I played around with my video, even took an MP3 of Bob Marley and set it to play with the cat video. I know how to do that without this program (Windows Movie Maker) but having it built into the Mino made it quick and easy. You could easily make videos with this and then use higher end software to add fancy effects and more. I love that this gives your basic user a taste of what's out there.
Sorry, I didn't upload my video anywhere. I was going to but I think my cats would make me regret posting them on the internet in the evil ways only cats can. But I did go so far as to get almost uploaded and once again, found the process to be pretty much idiot-proof. I was able to take some footage from my mother-in-law's fiftieth birthday party and email it out to her sisters and nephews. My husband thinks this could be useful in the bedroom. Whatever you choose to do with the Mino, whether it's taking some video at the kids' soccer game, catching your friend wiping-out on his skateboard or humiliating your feline companions you can pretty much take it anywhere. AND know you'll easily get your video ready to email to grandma, upload for sharing on YouTube or show your doctor when he has to remove your cat's claws from your back.
I'm still a skeptic. But I'm a skeptic with lots of cat videos set to Bob Marley and my Mino goes everywhere with me now. If you're looking for a great gift for a graduate, a teen with a YouTube obsession, a new grandparent or just a kooky chic who needs an excuse to put music to videos of her pets this is a somewhat pricey but great idea. But you'll pay for what you get. For the size, quality and ease of use this was a great investment and I wouldn't hesitate to get one again... darn it, I knew I should have got the black!
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