Flip Mino HD

Pure Digital Technologies' sleek-looking Flip Mino HD video camera is sparse on features but high on price. It's small enough to fit easily in the pocket and simple to handle. But at $229.99 it may be unappealing at a time when many people are counting pennies.

It's not a high-end camera with frills like manual focus and optical zoom, but it is simple to use. A no-nonsense interface allows you to press one button to shoot or play back video. It has a 1.5-inch LCD screen, weighs 3.3 ounces (93 grams) and comes with 4G bytes of storage.

Running on a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, the camera can shoot one hour of video at 1280-by-720 pixel HD resolution. That's a big improvement over its predecessor, the Flip Mino, which recorded at 640-by-480 resolution. It can only be recharged by plugging it into a computer's USB port, which may be its biggest drawback; it means you can't recharge the device unless you have access to a computer. The company plans to offer an AC adapter for recharging at some point in the future, a company spokeswoman said.

After connecting the Mino HD to a PC, videos can be easily e-mailed or uploaded to video sites like YouTube. The device works with both the Mac and Windows operating systems.