Asure way to discover how easy it is to use a consumer-electronics product is to give it to an eight-year-old, point out where the power switch is, and then stand back and see what happens. The Flip video camera (pictured above) passes this test with ease. And with bigger kids strapping it onto bikes, flying it in model aeroplanes and taking it to rock concerts, the results are impressive. But whether it is right for you depends on a number of other factors. The Flip's simplicity has made it a huge success in America, where more than 1m have been sold. Made by Pure Digital, a company based in San Francisco, the Flip has recently gone on sale in other countries, too. In Britain it costs ￡100 ($187). The Flip encapsulates two trends in home video. The first involves the way people are using camcorders: nowadays they are more likely to film a short clip and post it on YouTube or Facebook than to produce an epic account of a family holiday and show it to friends on a large-screen tv.
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