Usually  I don't do "me too" posts and especially against the  big named  blogs but this  reflects my experience with nearly every  cheap flash  camcorder built to a price.   I'm  still using a Sony DSC t1  as a camera that  can pull 30fps out at VGA level  which  can be found second hand  for  circa $120 ( make sure you get the charger and battery and that they are original   as that's almost half the price  right there.  I was looking at the raft of  < $200   camcorders and  in the end came to the conclusion that there's way too many devices that have video recording as a secondary function that win out over these annoyingly limited devices plus you get a "free"  camera or phone in most cases       It's also a good reason for marketers of said multi function products to pay attention to the secondary and tertiary uses of their  products and go out their way to highlight them.   We know the primary purpose is  camera,  gee thanks it's expected.   We know what cameras do   tell us what else is cool

None of the reviews compared the Flip to it’s core competition: normal digital cameras. Instead everyone focuses on the fact that Flip has sold nearly a million units, saying that’s 15-20% of the camcorder market - and the Flip is a fraction of the price of most of those competitors.

The Flip v. My Cheap Canon Camera: Flip Loses Across The Board