NEWS

Video Flips for the Future

AlwaysOn
April 26, 2008
By Steve Rosenbaum

Its hard to imagine it. A company comes out of nowhere and build a next-gen video camera that is going toe to toe with Sony, Panasonic, and Cannon almost over night. But it's true, and its called The Flip - and there are some key lessons to be learned in the Flip story.

First, some history. The Flip is the product of Pure Digital Technologies, a Silicon Valley company who began their life two years ago building disposable cameras for chains like CVS looking to expand the disposable film camera business into video. I bought one - looking for low cost way to have a quick and dirty way to hand users a camera that they could handle without complex tech or steep learning curve. Their first product was not very good. Low video quality, a less than appealing costs structure, and a clunky interface. I wrote the off and went back to trying to use my point and shoot sony to grab video when I could.

But then something happened at Pure Digital. They listened. They listened to their customers. They paid attention to the market. The noticed the growth of YouTube and the other fast moving video destination sites. And they evolved quickly. They build a second product that was in some ways brilliant and in others counter intuitive. As Sony and others focused on HI Def and flatscreen playback, the Flip went low tech and low-def, scrimping on file size to allow for longer recording times without removable media or complex cables. They borrowed not from Camcorder features, but instead CEO Jonathan Kaplan has said from the 'Flip' feature of his Audi car key. Video innovations from detroit - interesting.

And so - as Sony imagined a future with huge TV's, huge hard drives, complex user manuals, and a collection of cables, charges, batteries, and memory stick up-sell opportunities, the guys at Flip did something far more elegant, they built a product the market needed.

Today - video is moving into the mainstream. And that means that video capture needs to be fast, easy, and able to move from a device to the web without barriers. The Flip provides a software editing solution that is simpler even than iMovie - and both Mac and PC ready. It loads from the device via the USB connection - so there's no DVD to load (or lose) and and simple cut and past video editing is always available and ready to go.

The Flip story has a lot to offer - both in looking at the future of video, and the future of consumer electronics and product design.

First, old mainstream video companies (both consumer electronics makers and content companies) confuse the meaning of the word quality. Hollywood measures quality in terms of dollars on the screen and big budget special effects. But YouTube viewers - and that is what an entire generation is fast becoming - are hungry for authenticity and timeliness. Video shot at today's concern, by a real person, is far more engaging that a multi-camera shoot of an event months ago. Ask any teen. Secondly, for the CE hardware makers - quality is always measured in megapixels and lines of resolution. But here again- consumers acept, even embrace the speed and simplicity of the flip to get video made and shared quickly and simply.

The lessons here. Speed, simplicity, authenticity wins.

Sure I'd like Flip video in HD, and on my flat screen. But I'd rather get rid of that clump of wires and batteries in that drawer in my living room first.

Video is going to be the new currency of ideas on the web. And Flip has the pole position going into the critical piece of the race as consumer adoption ramps up quickly.