Gadgets are all very well and good, but when the user manual requires you to break a sweat to lift it - and even the quick start guide can be used as a doorstop - you have to wonder if it’s worth the effort. That’s why I confess to loving the elegant simplicity of the Flip Video Mino F360 Camcorder.

For those of you who are after an all-singing-all-dancing camera, look elsewhere. This particular gadget isn’t jam-packed full of customization options or snazzy features. The Flip Video range (yes, there are more choices out there!) are more of a “spur of the moment” sort of camcorder, allowing you to capture those priceless memories and relive them (much to the horror of those who you’ve caught doing the singing and dancing) whenever you fancy.

I’ll admit to being the sort of person who prefers putting in the time to learning how to use a new gizmo over getting a “lite” version, but the Flip Video range has swayed my opinion more toward the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) idea, given that my first experience with one is having it thrust in to my hands by a friend who wanted me to record some stunt of his with no explanation of how to use it. How much of an explanation is needed when there are only six buttons (seven if you count the off one, but no one would ever want to press that after they’ve got their hands on it)?

Few gadgets give me such a buzz when I first see them that I sit down to try and find out more about them, but this little gem reminds me of when I first picked up an iPod. Just as Apple realized that you don’t need 101 buttons on an mp3 player, the Flip Video camcorders are the result of shunning the norm and rebuilding the very idea of what it is that you really want out of one: something to record your life as it happens, when it happens.

From: techfresh.net

So, praise aside, let’s talk facts and figures. The 2GB of internal memory are quoted as being able to record 60 minutes of video at 640×480 resolution in, unsurprisingly, MPEG-4 format with up to 2x digital zoom. It has a built in microphone and speaker for playback, a USB 2.0 connector that “flips out” (which is also used to recharge it as well as upload your videos) and is compatible with both Windows (XP and Vista) and Macs, which should keep all but the hardcore UNIX users happy. Weighing in at under 100g and less than 4 inches tall, calling it “portable” really doesn’t do it justice. You should be able to pick one up for around $160, which isn’t all that shabby (although I’m sadly not yet the proud owner of one myself), especially considering that both the video and audio quality are surprisingly good. If it’s a bit out of your price range still then older models, like the Ultra F260, have similar specifications and save you $40 or so.

If you happen to be one of the ever-growing community of bloggers and YouTube fanatics, you’ll be pleased to know that it takes a matter of seconds from plugging it in to getting the videos up for the world to see, which has got to be one of the crowning features that rounds off the Flip Video camcorders nicely.

Overall, the Flip Video Mino F360 is a fantastic little gadget that’s perfect for capturing moments on camera, although it lacks a fair number of fairly common features (such as adjustable video quality and manual focus) that crosses it off of the to-buy list of anyone who’d use it more than casually.