How Apple singlehandedly killed the Flip Mino

I reviewed the Flip Mino HD video camera December 2008 and was impressed by its sleek design and excellent video quality calling it "ultimate accessory for any self-respecting Mac head." Then the iPhone 3GS came out -- and I haven't thought about it since.

Much has been written about how the iPhone 3GS effectively killed the Flip Mino, after all, who would pay $230 for a single-purpose device when the $199 iPhone 3GS records video and can edit it and upload it to YouTube? For starters, anyone that is locked in a mobile phone contract with a carrier other than AT&T and people that don't want an iPhone. A formidable bunch.

Then comes word that Apple is in the process of adding a camera to the iPod touch which is sure to evoke fear in some Cisco executives after the ink barely dried on its acquisition of Pure Digital Technologies (makers of the Flip Mino HD) in March 2009 for $590 million.

TechCrunch, courtesy of a source in Asia, is reporting that Apple has placed an order for a massive number of camera modules like the ones in the iPhone, concluding that the cameras are destined for the iPod touch. Adding more fuel to the fire, MacRumors reports that a "third generation" iPod touch case has been spotted with a hole in the rear for what could be a camera lens.

If the iPhone 3GS didn't kill the Flip Mino HD, then a third-generation iPod touch with video could be the final nail in its coffin.

Picture: TechCrunch