Pure Digital’s newest addition to the Flip family of digital camcorders is the Flip Mino . The Mino is 40% smaller than the old Flip Ultra and looks a lot better as well. Available in black or white, the Mino easily fits into any shirt pocket and is ready to shot videos at a moment’s notice.

Enhancements to the Mino include a built in rechargeable battery that will last up to 4 hours, more than enough for the 1 hour of video the Mino can record. Charging starts the instant you plug the Mino into a free USB 2.0 port. There is an optional power adapter as well but I doubt you’ll ever need to use it.

The biggest feature for Mac users is the new software that comes with the Mino that allows it to work iMovie 08. No more two step process to get videos into iMovie! The software works with the old Flip Ultra as well, so anyone with an Ultra and a Mac should download the new software right away.

At $179, the Mino is a bit more expensive than the Ultra but well worth it. If you already have a Flip Ultra, I don’t think it’s worth upgrading unless you want the latest toy. If you are in the market for a new Flip and don’t know which one to choose, then the Mino is the no brainer choice.

Size Comparison

Here you can see the size difference between the Mino and Ultra. Just for reference, I added my Logitech mouse. Even though the Mino is much smaller than the Ultra, both units have a 1.5″ video screen, so you don’t lose any screen real estate for going small.

So far, I’ve used the Mino for a few weeks and like it a lot. The unit is every bit as easy to use as the Ultra. I’ll be taking some side by side videos to see what the quality difference is like. From what I’ve seen so far, the Mino’s video quality is not as good as the Ultra but it’s more than good enough for YouTube.

Bloggers looking for an inexpensive way to add videos to their blogs will want to take a serious look at the new Flip Mino.