Pure Digital Flip Ultra Easy Camcorder

With the popularity of video sharing websites like YouTube, more and more consumers are demanding for a handy camcorder that is convenient and easy-to-use. In addressing this demand, Pure Digital recently released a follow up to its original Flip camcorder - the Flip Ultra.

Coming in two versions (the 1GB version costs $149, while the 2GB version costs $179). The Flip Ultra retains its bare bones approach. It has very few and basic parts, which makes it inexpensive among consumers. However, this simplistic component also has its downside. With low-quality and very compressed parts, do not expect high-quality videos coming out of the Flip Ultra.

The clips may be enough for video sharing websites, but putting it on your TV could spell disaster as you see grainy, distorted, and pixilated videos. It only serves its basic purpose of you having to instantly record videos and put it onto the computers with ease.

All you have to do is to press the big red button on the center to record, and then press it again to stop. Flip the USB arm on its side and plug it directly to the computer. However, not everybody has a very accessible USB port, which prompted the manufacturers to provide a USB extension cord, which is only available online.

What stepped this product further is that Flip Ultra has an improved uploading process and even has built-in editing software. It also has a much simpler navigation between keys as you can now zoom in to your video subjects up to 2x with digital zoom, as well as a trashcan button that deletes your videos. However, its limited memory does not seem to be expandable, which is why you need to archive your footage on your PC before the videos become unfit for viewing.

The built-in editing software can let you transfer video clips from the Flip Ultra to your computer hard drive, which you can then edit, burn into DVD, e-mail, or upload to online video sharing sites. The Flip Ultra makes it simple for many consumers who are still afraid of new technologies. It is one of the most inexpensive camcorders in the market, and you can expect Pure Digital to come up with more advanced models in the near future.

(Image source: The Flip.com)