The latest model, called the Flip Ultra hd camcorder, improved video quality, greater capacity, a tripod mount and better looks (available in white, black, orange, pink and green). It’s been the best-selling camcorder on Amazon.com since the day of its debut.

Because on paper, the Flip looks like a cheesy toy that no self-respecting geek would fool with, let alone a technology columnist. You will have to will open you mind

There are no menus, no settings, no video light, no optical viewfinder, no special effects, no headphone jack, no high definition, no lens cap, no memory card. And there’s no optical zoom — only a 2X digital zoom that blows up and degrades the picture. Ouch.

Very user friendly you press play to review the video, and the trash button to delete a clip

It also has simple user’s manual

The lesson is one that the electronics industry seems to miss over and over again: that creeping feature-it is often impairs your product instead of improving it. In the a Flip case, the size, shape, ruggedness, low price and one-button simplicity take it places where no real camcorder would go. Purses, coat pockets, beach bags. Skiing, playgrounds, house walk-through, museums, casual interviews, You Tube stunts, classrooms, airplanes — and, with the $50 acrylic sealed case, even underwater. (Just about everywhere but live performances and sports; the zoom just isn’t good enough.)Can you buy another hd camcorder with all these features?????? For the Price$$

The video and audio quality is surprisingly good — not as sharp as a tape camcorder or even digital still cameras, but far superior to cellphone video. It has TV resolution (640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second), with softer images than you’d get with a real camcorder.

The Flips low-light abilities trumps even the 1000 camcorders.

a U.S.B. jack pops out at 90 degrees to the camera body.