Kirk's Technology Blog

If you follow my tech segments, you know that I'm a HUGE fan of the Flip Video camera. Now Creative has entered the simply pocket digital camcorder sector with the new Creative Vado Pocket Video Cam. All I can say is, "Flip Video, get ready for a showdown!"

It's about the same size (a bit slimmer and lighter) but has a bigger screen, more options, a rechargeable battery and only costs $99! Needless to say, when Creative announced the Vado I was pretty excited about it. Today, the new Vado cam arrived on my desk. You can see a video of me un-boxing it below.

My first impression... it's awesome! It records in Xvid format at 640x480 just like the Flip Video. The larger screen is great and the extra options are nice to have. You can change the video quality to squeeze more video onto the included 2GB of memory. The Flip Video doesn't give you that option. The flip out USB port is flexible which makes it a bit easier in tight squeeze situations. It's also a bit slimmer than the Flip Video and much lighter. The rechargeable battery is a nice addition especially since you can recharge it via any USB port. I'm really surprised they managed to sell this thing for only $99! Creative opted to NOT include an video/audio output cable. The only thing you get in the box is the camera itself and the battery. For those who would never use the video/audio cable, this makes sense. Let those who want to use the output cable pay for it and let the rest of us save a few bucks.

I'll have a full review coming up soon but in the meantime check out my un-boxing video below. along with my Creative Vado - Flip Video Ultra side by side pics.

Click Here To See the Creative Vado and Flip Video Ultra side by side.