What you probably didnt know: the Flip Video was nearly a Google-branded video camera, internal Google e-mails exposed by the House Judiciary Committees antitrust sub-committee program. It would have been Googles very first camera and maybe the very first piece of Google-branded hardware as well.
Before Android, before the iPhone, and prior to GoPro became a recognized brand name, the Flip Video camcorder took the world by storm, permitting millions to shoot digital home videos one-handed and easily save, share, and submit them to a nascent YouTube, thanks to an iconic flip-out USB port.
What we understand
In January 2006, a year and a half prior to the first Flip Video went on sale, Google Video product supervisor Peter Chane tried to encourage his coworkers that they must cut an offer to make Google Video the primary video hosting partner for an upcoming Pure Digital video camera.
By February, the deal had actually obviously evolved. Now, Pure Digital was obviously interested in turning an upcoming device into a “Google branded video camera,” recommending that particular alternative could double or quadruple the number of uploaded videos:
While its amusing to believe back on Pure Digital as “the company that makes the non reusable and one time use video electronic cameras,” that held true. Back in 2005, the Flip Videos predecessor was released as a $29.99 non reusable digital camera. You needed to bring it back to CVS and pay $12.99 for staff members to burn videos onto a DVD for you.
Heres photographic evidence:
Picture by Tim Boyle/ Getty Images
And while coworkers like Hunter Walk were a little doubtful about YouTube in the e-mail thread– “Were focused on videos that have some broad public excellent, more so than hosting everyones individual video content” is a quote for the ages– we know thats exactly what Google did months later on in October 2006.
Pure Digital technically introduced the USB-equipped electronic camera in May 2006, months ahead of the YouTube offer, but it relaunched the camera in 2007 as the “Flip Video” with heavy ties to the newly Google-owned YouTube right out of the gate. Then, smart devices took off, Cisco bought Flip, and the video camera brand name died an ignominious death in 2011. Google didnt have much luck trying to restore the concept in 2018 with the ill-fated Google Clips, either, as intriguing as its AI smarts sounded.
You can read Googles complete, if somewhat redacted, email thread in our Scribd embed below.
While its entertaining to believe back on Pure Digital as “the company that makes the non reusable and one time use video electronic cameras,” that was real. Back in 2005, the Flip Videos predecessor was launched as a $29.99 disposable digital camera. Pure Digital technically presented the USB-equipped camera in May 2006, months ahead of the YouTube offer, but it relaunched the electronic camera in 2007 as the “Flip Video” with heavy ties to the freshly Google-owned YouTube right out of the gate.
But Google Video director Jennifer Feikin had a different idea: Google ought to acquire YouTube rather.
Incidentally, heres what GoPro appeared like in 2006.
