Wednesday, December 24, 2008 by Amber
Happy Christmas Eve, everyone! Byte-Sized is taking the rest of the week off after today, so let's not delay!
Presenting the
Byte-Sized Gadget of the Year.... (drum roll...)
The Flip Mino (both reg. and HD)
Price: $179.99-$229.99
Available at theflip.com
The Flip Mino hasn't missed anyone's radar, especially if you are a regular reader here at Byte-Sized. It's tiny design and sleek interface and accompanying GUI is best-of-breed, and the pricetag is more than reasonable considering its impressive usability and uploading capabilities.
I adore this gadget, and I literally carry it with me where ever I go. If you are in the market for a camcorder, or are looking to be the impromptu star at your family's Christmas party, birthday party, baby shower or bridal shower, this is a gift that will not only be talked about for years but will be appreciated by the recipient every time they pop it out of its little felted case.
***So thanks for tuning in to this special edition of Byte-Sized! Drive home safely from where ever you are, and do me a favor -- don't turn on your computer for the next few days. This time of year is meant to be spent cast in the glow of your family and friends, not your 40" widescreen monitor. Happy tidings to all, and to all, a good night!
-- amber
Labels: Flip, Flip Mino, Flip Mino HD, gadget of the year
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Monday, October 27, 2008 by Amber
And the cool get even cooler.
As if the
Flip Mino, as reviewed here in Aug., weren’t already one of the coolest gadgets on the market this holiday season, its site has added a new customizable interface for users to either choose from predesigned faces (
the Stardust is my favorite) or upload an image to design one themselves (
here is my Flip -- with a pic I took of the Eiffel Tower in 2006).
The predesigned faces offered vary from tribal tattoos to swirling florals to geometric patterns in wild colors. Finding the perfect pattern is more exhaustive than you’d think – there are so many different designers, categories and recommendations to browse that users can waste hours just playing with different options.
Most impressive with the Flip’s online GUI is the option to design your own Mino face. Uploading images and manipulating them via the online animation tool was simple, as was the automatic pattern generator engine – although I would have enjoyed a more varied customizable color palette.
The finished product arrived at my door quickly and looks stunning. The pattern was solid in thick -- not at all pixelated or cheap-looking -- and I posed in front of my mirror checking out how cool I would look taking videos in front of jealous relatives over the holidays. Yeah, I'll admit it.
Meanwhile, just try to stop the thoughts of who would love what patterns best while you play with the easy GUIs. Grandma needs one with a picture of her grandbabies on it to capture her own precious moments. Relatives readying for a new baby or a wedding can customize their recorder with favorite memories or just a really cool graphic. Students would love a wild swirling pattern or a tribal tattoo to play with after class.
Of course, all of this is anchored by the Mino’s easy recording features and sharing capabilities, all of which put it on my running list of must-have gadgets. Adding a customizable feature just pushes it higher on the list.
For more information or to get yourself a cool new Mino, visit
http://www.theflip.com/.
Labels: Flip Mino, Flip Mino review
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Friday, October 17, 2008 by Amber
Hello, friends! Here is a round up of this week's top Byte-Sized stories:
British dermatologists have released findings that show that prolonged exposure over time to the nickel and nickel alloys in
cell-phone faces can cause an allergic reaction in the form of a rash. Seriously, you can get a rash on your face if you talk too much. Tell that one to your inordinately verbose friend next time she won't hang up.
Microsoft officials stated
Mac users pay a hidden 'Apple tax' to configure their notebooks to run Windows, but the question is why, if they want Windows, don't they just get a PC?
Prada has introduced its second-gen phone that comes equipped with a QWERTY keyboard. No word on whether the new model comes with a Prada carrying case, but I'd take the phone and this Fairy bag any day. Assuming I won the lottery, paid off all my bills, bought a new car and literally had money left to burn. Cost for just the phone: $850.
The Flip Mino, awesome camcorder and my current favorite gadget ever, has gotten even more awesome with a new service available online where users can
design and customize their Mino with photos and/or logos. What a sweet company gift that would be, right? Hint, hint. Plus, if someone decides your design is too cool and wants it for their Mino too, you get a $10 royalty check from Flip! Now this is a community I can get behind. Stay tuned for a review of this new feature next week!
That's all for me this week, folks. Don't forget to tip your waitress. Catch you on the flip side!
Labels: cell-phone allergies, Flip Mino, Mac, Microsoft, Prada fairy bag, Windows PC
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Amber Plante is your guide through the geektastic worlds of science, technology and pop culture -- the Q to your James Bond, the Cortana to your Master Chief and the McGonagall to your Harry Potter, so to speak. She makes the technobabble make sense and shows you the fantastic wired world of the Internet in a whole new light. Are you a geek, too? Don't worry, you're in good company.
