If I may be so gauche as to repost something I wrote in a comments field at another site, Mr. Raster asked what I thought about this DigitalCameraHYPHENhq.com link-bait article wherein the author writes a clumsily penned love letter to the Kodak Zi8 Pocket Camcorder.

Comparing the Flip to the Zi8 seems disingenuous at best. It's like comparing OSX to Windows 7. They're two different experiences-- and they are supposed to be. And besides: debating which pocket camcorder is better is like trying to decide which turd sandwich to eat.

Articles like this are why companies get into bullet-point pissing matches. By pitting the point-and-shoot camcorders against each other in some kind of protracted war of mediocrity, consumers are really missing out on viable and significant opportunities. The first sub $99 pocket camcorder that outputs real DV video wins. End of story.

But that's not the end of the story. I'll add some directors commentary: I love the Flip. My first-generation flip is all I need. It records an hour or two -- I'm never sure which -- of ugly, compressed video that I can slice and dice up into footage to share and document moments in my lovely daughter's life. It's push button easy, and I probably have it in my pocket. That's all the Flip is supposed to do. To use the language of professional douchebaggery, that's the Flip's brand promise. I seriously hope the folks who make the flip don't get bullet-pointitis and start adding features to the flip that exist outside the realm of point it over here and push record.
I mean, seriously, if you're sitting around wishing you could take still pictures with your camcorder, you're doing it wrong.