The Flip Video Ultra is a compact solid-state video recorder that appeals instantly simply because of its ease of use, low cost and the quality of its video capture.
It's about the size of an iPhone, but slightly thicker, and is intended to be used as a super-simple video camera. The controls are idiot proof: you turn it on by flicking a little button on the side (the unit powers up instantly), point the thing at whatever you want to film, and then just press the big red button located below the viewfinder. Hey presto! Instant video recording!
The quality of the video is really rather good (640x480 resolution at 30 frames per second) and even though the viewfinder is quite small (3.5cm x 2.5cm), it's still perfectly clear and watchable. To stop recording, you just press the red button again and to review your clips you just press the 'play' button. The only other button on the thing is the 'delete' button, which is pretty self explanatory.
There is a 2x digital zoom and the microphone is quite sensitive so you'll rarely record something and not be able to hear it.
The reason for the strange name is the little USB connector that 'flips' out when you press a button on the opposite side to the on/off switch, and this is where the Flip Video gets clever. You don't get any installation disks for your PC in the box when you buy your Flip Video - that's because everything you need to edit and view your clips on a PC come pre-installed on the unit itself. The first time you connect the Flip Video Ultra to a PC, a one-time installation is performed automatically and this software suite allows you to edit, view and save all of your video effortlessly. Furthermore, this software suite (called Muvee) allows you to instantly upload your stuff to Youtube with a single button press. Perfect for all the bloggers out there!
The Flip Video Ultra isn't perfect - the digital zoom is pretty useless and there is no memory expansion slot (it comes in either 1 or 2 GB models only, which equate to 30mins and 1hr of video respectively), but if you're after a low cost, easy to use and good quality video camera, you can't go wrong with the Flip.