Samsung Barges Into Flip Territory With HMX-U10 1080p Pocket Camcorder [Camcorders]

Samsung has finally joined the illustrious, bulging ranks of Flip-imitating manufacturers, announcing the HMX-U10, a 1080p-recording, 10-megapixel-shooting compact camcorder set to land in September.

It's a form-factor that doesn't leave much room for creativity, but Samsung's managed to put together a distinctive product with the HMX-U10. The slightly swept design allows for more comfortable gripping than the flat bricks we've all grown accustomed to, and the compact profile—56mm x 103mm x 15.5mm—belies its solid specs, and most notably its ability to record 1080p H.264 video, as opposed to the industry standard 720p. Otherwise, we're in familiar territory here: there's a one-touch YouTube upload button, fixed-focus lens, expandable SD storage and a two-inch LED screen.

Also, with the emphasis on still shooting, I'm noticing a conceptual problem: point-and-shoot cameras have been getting more and more video savvy in the last few years, and now, mini-camcorders are aspiring to be pocket cameras. They're roughly the same size, and assuming a tag of around $200—suspected, but not certain—for the HMX-U10, fall into the same price range. The future won't be pretty for one category or the other, and that's not even considering the increasingly capable imaging capabilities of modern smartphones. Exactly what will kill what (and what we'll be left with) is still up in the air, but you can rest assured the slaughter will be well-recorded. [InfoSyncWorld, Crave]