NOW that it seems like almost everyone has a portable audio player, video recorders look set to be the next craze.

Although mobile phones can record video, they cannot -for now - do so in high definition (HD).

Creative's Vado HD is a mini-camcorder that creates HD videos simply. Whip out the tiny video camera and press
a button to shoot - that's it. It's easy to deploy and use.

To view the recorded video, you can either use the tiny 2-inch LCD on the camera, connect the camcorder directly to the TV via aHDMI cable (included) or a PC-USB connection. Vado HD captures video in 720p and provides 1,080p output, presumably after upscaling the video to an HDTV.

The 8GB built-in memory can store up to two hours of HD video. With the built-in USB connector, it can be plugged into a PC - and with the provided software (also built into the camcorder) - to allow the easy uploading of videos directly to YouTube and Box.net. The videos shot on the Vado HD look very good on a computer display and especially good on a HDTV. Power is not a problem as the rechargeable battery is swoppable.

However, Creative could increase the camera zoom and improve the LCD quality. Right now, Vado HD is the only HD mini-camcorder in the market. Its competitors, the Flip Mino HD, Kodak Zi6 and the RCA SmallWonder, are notavailable in Singapore.

How much: $349

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