Tech Blog

[#1]

If you doubt that in the future everything you need will be in your pocket or the cloud, just look at the latest device to gain entry to obsolesence - The Flip Cam.

Just 2 years ago The Flip was hailed as a revolutionary device when it was finally available in Canada.  It made HD video affordable and portable.  I have had 3 of the cameras and have loved each updated edition more than the previous one. In fact, I was singing the praises of The Flip just this past December (before I had an iPhone 4).

In 2009 Cisco believed in the product so much they paid $590M for the company, but today The Flip died.

“Stopping the business rather than selling it was the best course of action,” Cisco’s global head of public relations exclusively told Pocket-lint on Tuesday, in response to our query on why the sudden decision.  

In the dramatic move, the company will cease all production of Flip Video products globally, but has said that it will support the company’s FlipShare service for existing customers, while it formulates a “transition plan.”

Read more: Cisco kills Flip Video - Pocket-lint

I'm not shocked.  With the recent upgrade to the iPhone 4, my Flip has sat in my briefcase (next to my camera) - unused for months. 

With the pocket video camera now terminated, could the point and shoot camera be far behind? 

As I recently raved about the Camera+ app, my iPhone 4 camera takes photos that are just fine, I can massage and edit the image right on my device and instantly share it to anywhere in the cloud. There was the promise of a WiFi flip being added to the arsenal which may have saved the device from execution, but it never appeared.

If you're not smart phone friendly, I still stand by the pocket video camera market as a great way to take high quality video when you're on vacation.  Here are some solutions (including The Flip - for now) still found on the shelves at Future Shop.

catch the buzz ... pass it on.

[#2]

I still like the higher quality video of a full size (which is still incredibly small) video camcorder myself. Well worth it when taking video of events and travel that mean a lot to you. The compression you find on these smaller pocket cams are OK for viewing on a smaller screen and posting online for all to view on their PC but play them back on a larger screen (40" +) which every one has now and they just don't come anywhere close to the picture quality of a AVCHD format HD camcorder. You are just kidding yourself if you think so. Not to mention the limitations of these smaller pocket cams. Good for at the moment 30 sec bursts to catch a thought but do you really want to watch a wedding video or your child's first steps or that European vacation from a camera that has so many limitations in design and features (i.e.. Zoom,image stabilization. Even a standard SD full size camcorder will give you better picture than that HD pocket cam. And that goes for iPhones too. , lens size and quality, low light sensitivity, larger sensors....I can go on and on about all the great features and technology you get on a standard camcorder, and not just features that are cool but features that are there to give you the best picture possible and that run circles around any pocket cam or smart phone / iphone.