Daily deal – Kodak Zi6 HD camcorder for $99 (refurbished)

My daily deal for today is for a camera I reviewed last year – the Kodak Zi6 is a pocket handheld HD camcorder.

This camera can record video at 720p, and 60 frames per second, which equals “real HD”. The device has 128MB of built in memory, and an SD(HC) card slot, so you will have to invest a little more in a memory card if you plan to record more than a few minutes of content.

The camera runs off AA batteries, and a charger with 2 AA’s is included. To transfer the video off the Zi6, you simply flip the integrated USB connector out the side, and plug it into your PC. The included software allows for easy transfers to Youtube.

The Kodak Zi6 normally retails for $179, but if you live with a refurbished model, you can pick one up for just $99. Shipping is a pretty outrageous $10.

If you don’t want the gamble of a refurbished version, you can pick up a new Zi6 at Amazon for $151, which comes with free shipping.


Check out these other cool gadgets we recently reviewed!


10 travel related things you just don’t see any more

Feeling nostalgic? I’ve compiled ten travel related things that are no longer around, including a couple of things that really brought back some memories of trips from the past.

Read through the 10 things I could think of, and leave a comment with anything you no longer see when you travel.

Smoking or Non Smoking?

With the possible exception of a few smaller airlines, you won’t find an airline in the world that still asks whether you want a smoking or non smoking seat on your flight.

I’m not that old, but I can still remember sitting in the back of the plane with all the smokers so my dad could light up.

Smoking is banned on any flight in, or destined to the United States, and an overview of the rules on worldwide airlines can be found here. In 2006, a German entrepreneur announced he was starting an airline where anyone would be free to smoke, but the concept never took off.


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Travel agents

In ancient times, booking a flight involved making a trip to your local travel agent. You’d often pop in for a stack of brochures, then you’d head back in a couple of days to make the actual reservation.

The booking involved filling in forms, and an agent calling the airline to check for availability, or if they sold enough trips, they’d use their green screen computer to check for availability. You’d then pay, and 2 weeks later your travel documents would be ready to pick up. Usually neatly stacked in a nice vinyl pouch.

There are still some travel agents around, but most of them have disappeared. The local travel agent is just another victim of Internet booking sites and airline cost cutting measures. Those still around tend to cater towards specialty trips, package deals or cruise vacations, where they can still make a few bucks in commission.

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Color TV! Phones!
Cable!

Sure, some less luxurious places may still have the old sign out front, but “color TV” is not the big selling point it used to be. Nowadays guests want 100 channels of HD, as well as a nice variety of pay per view flicks.

Access to your own in-room phone is also no longer a perk worth advertising, even though the phone has now become a major money maker for many hotels.

I haven’t been around long enough to know when “color TV” actually became something worth advertising, nor have I ever been to a hotel where the TV was not in color.

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Payphones

Let me admit right away that this one hasn’t completely vanished – but the payphone is most certainly not as common as it used to be, nor do that many people want to use them.

In a way, I kind of miss the hassle they offered, because they meant people had to stop and drop some coins into the slot in order to make a phone call. Nowadays it seems like everyone is on their phone, and the worst offenders seem to have their Bluetooth headset glued to their skulls 24/7.

The last time I made a call from a payphone was in 1998, when I arrived at Dulles with a dead phone battery. Nowadays I can use my cellular phone in almost any corner of the globe.

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Real room keys

We can put a computer inside your phone, and develop a car that runs off battery power – but for some reason we seem unable to make a magnetic room key that always works when you need it.

I remember when the room key hung on a big board behind the front desk, and you’d hand it in when you left the hotel for the day. The large weight on the key would usually remind you not to go out without leaving it behind.

The best part about the real key is that it always worked. You never arrived at your room at 2am to discover it was encoded incorrectly by a clueless night desk clerk, nor would you be able to receive a key for a room already occupied.

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Carbon copy ticket stock

This one is closely related to the travel agent – remember when airline tickets did not roll out of your home printer? You’d get them on airline ticket stock, in a cool red carbon print.

The carbon copy ticket still exists for a couple of airlines, or for trips too complicated for online ticketing (usually round the world tickets with over 10 segments).

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Affordable duty free shopping

To many, a trip to the airport never took place without first passing through the duty free shops. The stores themselves are still around, but they are not the deal heavens they used to be. In the past, the duty free shop was where you’d pick up a bottle of the “good stuff” for about 30% less than the liquor store in your town. You could always tell who traveled a lot, by the size and quality of the booze in their cabinet.

Nowadays duty free is just another overpriced way the airport tries to squeeze some more cash out of you before you fly. In Europe, duty free shopping between EU members was abolished in 1999, and most duty free stores in European airports sell only regular priced (luxury) items. Airports like Amsterdam Schiphol and London Heathrow have 100’s of stores, but only a handful of true “duty free” options.

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Film roll kiosks

It didn’t matter where you were – if it was something tourists enjoyed looking at, there would be some poor guy selling rolls of film in his little kiosk. If you were part of the new revolution, you’d buy your Kodak Disc cartridges from him. If you were really hardcore, you’d carry your Polaroid 600 with you, and get instant gratification!

Once you got back home, you’d have to drop all the film rolls off at the local photo store, and wait a week to get them back. That then changed to same day processing, then one hour processing, and nowadays we just stick a memory card in our computer and make our own prints.

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The VHS video camera

I still remember hauling a large bag with us on our trips. It contained a JVC video camera and VHS recorder.

By the time we had loaded the padded bag with batteries, a charger and a stack of tapes, the thing weighed about 60lbs, but at the time it was a marvel of technology.

It went everywhere we did – to the zoo, to the bar and even to the beach. After years of vacations, we ended up with 100’s of hours of video we never once watched again.

Nowadays the video camera inside many mobile phones is able to make better quality video than this thing did, which is probably why you don’t see anyone dragging one around any longer.

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Cheap plastic luggage

Nowadays, the big unknown by the baggage carousel is to see whether your baggage actually made it to your destination, but I still remember the days when the big surprise was whether your cheap luggage made it in one piece, and how many of the handles were still attached.

These crappy bags were often made of vinyl glued onto cardboard, and you were lucky if they survived the trip to the airport, let along a long haul flight abroad.

Perhaps it’s just me, but I suspect luggage quality has improved in recent years, and very few people actually still travel with the old fashioned suitcase.

Daily deal – Panasonic 40GB hard disk camcorder for $299

My daily deal for today is for a Panasonic 40GB hard disk camcorder with 42x optical zoom and image stabilizer. What these terms mean to you and me is that the camera uses a hard disk to record your video instead of tapes or DVD’s. You will need to use your computer to edit the video, but then you are free to record it to a DVD or to watch the clips directly on your computer. Another option is to connect the camera directly to a compatible DVD recorder to “burn” the image to a disk.

The benefit of hard disk recording is that you no longer need to invest in tapes or mini-DVD’s, and that you can record much more without having to switch recording media (up to 36 hours). Any recordings you don’t want can instantly be deleted, and cherished recordings can be backed up on your PC.

The camera usually retails for around $350, but it is currently on sale through Amazon for just $299. It may be a little too late for your summer vacation, but it should come in handy for wacky Halloween video clips or for shooting Christmas morning.

Included with the camera is an AC adapter/charger, a battery pack, connection cables and a manual with software.
Since the item is over $25, Amazon will ship it for free, plus customers in many states will not be charged sales tax. You can read more about this camera here.

Daily Deal – Flip Ultra 60 minute digital camcorder (pink) for $124

My daily deal for today is for the Flip Ultra 60 minute digital camcorder. This pocket video camera has an internal memory card, with enough storage for 60 minutes of your antics. The camera features a nifty pop-out USB connector, so you do not need to carry any cables.

The camera starts up in about 3 seconds, and is instantly ready to record. Thanks to its AA batteries, you do not have to worry about expensive camcorder rechargeable batteries, plus you’ll be able to pick up new batteries almost anywhere.

The camera comes complete with a set of new batteries, a TV video cable, a carrying pouch and a wrist strap.

The retail price for the Flip Ultra is $149.99, but you can pick one up the pink version through Amazon for just $124. If pink isn’t “your thing”, you’ll still be able to pick up a more masculine color, but you will end up paying a few dollars more.

The quality of the video off the Flip camera is surprisingly decent, it won’t win you an Oscar, but it is a great affordable way to capture your memories on a vacation. The camera software also makes it easy to instantly upload your recordings to popular video sharing sites like Youtube and if you are not very computer savvy, you can even bring the camera to a local Flip retailer and have the recordings stored on a DVD.

Daily deal – Flip Ultra series 30 minute digital camcorder – $50 from Dell.com

(Update, looks like the deal is dead already, sorry about that!)

My daily deal for today is for the Flip Ultra series digital camcorder. This digital camcorder features a built in flash memory card for up to 30 minutes of video. Once you are done recording, the small flip-out USB connector allows you to instantly transfer the recordings to your computer.

The Flip Ultra has a 1.5″ color screen, a 2x digital zoom and an output for displaying your movies on TV, a video cable is included in the package. The Flip camera is perfect for short video clips on your trip, as it runs off regular AA batteries and is very durable.

If you enjoy underwater activities, then you’ll love the Flip underwater case which can be found on Amazon for under $30 (check the “other” vendors listed on the right side of the Amazon page). The combination of the Flip camera and the underwater case make this the cheapest underwater video camera available on the market.

This camera normally retails for $149, but if you order it from Dell.com, you’ll get an instant $50 off, plus an additional $50 instant rebate, bringing the price down to just $50. To make the deal even better, you’ll even get free ground shipping!

To get the additional $50 off, you will need to enter coupon code KGJQ72S6F0H828 on the checkout page. The coupon code should be valid till September 3rd, but Dell often ends promotions early so don’t wait around too long.

(Source: Fatwallet)