Sanyo's new pocket camera clearly takes aim at the Flip, while at the same time liberally borrowing inspiration from its success. The design moves away from previous Xacti gun-shaped designs and adopts a more Flip-like form factor, even including the signature pop-out USB connector from which Flip takes its name. Assuming that Sanyo didn't infringe on any patents here, we're excited that the company sees the value and marketability of simple cameras with few buttons. That was the common appeal of the Flip, and that same simplicity might help Sanyo take a bite out of the pocket-camera/camcorder market.
The controls on this camera are still not as idiot-proof as the Flip, but they're probably idiot-proof enough. In many ways this new camera (officially, it's referred to as model VPC-PD2BK) stands on the shoulders of the Flip, and goes even further by adding some impressive new features.
Full HD 1080p video is pretty amazing in a camera of this size. In addition, Sanyo has added two mics, one on each side of the body to give the camera stereo sound recording functionality.
The most important feature however, and where it really shines over the Flip, is with a 3X optical zoom. One of the major criticisms of the Flip was of its poor quality digital zoom which, in our own experience while shooting video with it, is accurate.
The new Sanyo also takes 10-megapixel still photos, which also trumps the Flip which doesn't do still photos particularly well, requiring you to painstakingly snap stills from the video that you've taken via the camera's software editor.
Other features of Sanyo's new camera include:
- 37mm wide-angle lens
- Compatible with SD, SDHC, or SDXC (up to 64GB) memory cards
- Mini-HDMI port
- Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
- Rechargeable via USB port
- Size: 2.48"(W) x 0.87"(D) x 4.36"(H) (6.3 x 2.2 x 11cm)
- Weight: 3.7oz (105g)