2009 Christmas Gadget Countdown - 6. Mini digital video cameras

This was on my Christmas list last year and following Santa’s failure to deliver the goods  I still haven’t got round to getting one.

 Do you really need a separate video camera when a good mobile phone can take video good enough for YouTube? You do if you want to copy them onto DVD or watch them in full screen mode, and some of them look every bit as trendy as the latest phones. The new Flip Mino HD Chrome looks pretty cool. 60 minutes of HD video on a mobile phone-size digital video camera. The flip out USB connection, with instant uploading to MySpace and YouTube, makes this so simple to use. On the other hand, the new iPod Nano is smaller, it also plays music and you can use is as a digital voice recorder and FM radio too. The Kodak Zi8 is actually a far more versatile than these others, doubling as a competent 5 MP still camera too. It just doesn’t look as cool as the other two.