Flip video recording has gained substantial adoption as of late, even spurring significant Black Friday and Cyber Monday (News - Alert) deals. The latest release from Zoom, however, may have them all beat.

According to a Mashable report, a powerful new handheld camcorder is now available in the Zoom Q3HD Handy Video Recorder. This innovative device records 1080p HD video and 24-bit/96kHz HD audio.

The standout for this device is not the 1080p video as that has become fairly standard on Flip-style video devices. Where Zoom actually shines is the focus on quality audio. A dual microphone design captures high-quality (24-bit/96kHz) stereo sound.

The device is also designed to allow users to set audio levels and mic gains for highly precise HD audio – which is pretty cool. The built-in HDMI port also enables the device to be easily connected to home theaters for media playback.

Like all technology, however, there are some downsides. For one thing, the Zoom lacks zoom – no pun intended. This is common for cameras in this class and the video is truly only effective when shooting objects in close range.

Price could be another obstacle to purchase. It is among the costliest cameras in its class at $300. Then again, if you want the Flip-type style camera and you want something that delivers a better sound, the Zoom Q3HD is a good investment for the money.

Mobile video has come a long way and the ease of use in these devices has helped to propel their adoption. There are not without challenges, however, as demonstrated in this piece in which Jonathan Rosenberg, chief technology strategist at Skype (News - Alert), shares the 10 challenges of mobile video.

His focus was on Facetime, which was included in the launch of iPhone 4. He stated, “Facetime enables one-to-one video calling between iPhone (News - Alert) users with just the single touch of a button. It renders in full screen, and enables the user to send video using either the front or rear-facing cameras (for a see-what-I-see experience).

“Reactions to Facetime were mixed. Some heralded it as the arrival of video telephony to mobile. Others saw it as a gimmick. One thing is certain however – Facetime is not the first time a company has attempted to market mobile video telephony.”

There are many who argue over the virtues of mobile video and whether or not carrier networks can truly handle everything we want to be able to do. The Zoom camera does help to address such challenges, but makes it more difficult to share experiences and real-time conferencing is not necessarily an option. As the demand for real-time video continues to grow – what will dominate the industry?