One of the great things about the netbook platform is that you can take a lot of computing power with you just about anywhere. However, in order to keep your kit light, that means looking for small, lightweight peripherals. That's why the Flip MinoHD is so attractive. This camera is pocket-sized - about the same size and weight as a compact mobile phone and weighs just 94 grams and delivers 1280 x 720 video from its 1/4.5" HD CMOS Sensor.

We tested the Flip MinoHD (there's a non HD version as well but with YouTube now doing HD we're not sure we'd bother considering it) on an Asus Eee Box with an Intel N270, 1GB RAM and 80GB HDD. Installation was dead easy as the FlipShare app installs automatically from the Flip's own storage. The internal storage on our test unit could hold upto 60 minutes of 720p video but there's also a 120 minute version. We needed to reboot ourr system after initial install.

Shooting movides was a snap. Simply aim the lens and hit the big red button. However, there's no optical zoom and the 2x digital zoom wasn't really worth bothering with. There's no image stabilisation so a steady hand is needed. Once we'd shot some footage, we connected the Flip MinoHD to our test system using the flip-out USB connector. While connected, the camera is also recharged. Videos stored as MP4 natively - an easy format for playback but not natively supported by Movie Maker if you're using it on a WIndows XP.

Editing with FlipShare was limited to basic sequencing, titles and credits. If you're planning to do any more than that you'll need to look for some more sophisticated software or export to a Movie Maker friendly format. Sharing movies using FlipShare was very straightforward. There are options to burn movies to DVD (if you have an external buriner for your netbook) or, with just a few clicks sent to You Tube, MySpace or to a lower res format for upload to other websites. Flip also have their own video sharing if you don't want to use YouTube or MySpace.

For the time we had the Flip MinoHD for review it was never far away. We used it to quickly film speeches at weddings, performances at school concerts and other random life events. That's its great promise - a camera that is quick to start, easy to use and doesn't make downloading and editing footage a drag. For those on holidays, it a cheap and convenient way to carry a video camera that takes a decent shot. Sure, it's a little limited as it misses on full 1080p and image stabilisation but it's not intended to be a high-end camera. It's designed to be a step up from a camera phone.

Product	Flip MinoHD
Online	www.theflip.com
Price	$140USD to $199USD
Buy from	Amazon [Affiliate Link]
The Good	Easy to use, light, no software required
The Bad	LCD is small, No image stabilisation
The Ugly	No optical zoom
Mojo Rating	4

By Anthony Caruana