Creative Labs introduces the third generation of their Vado Camcorder.

Thursday, December 31^st, 2009 New Year’s Eve, Netcast 994

I haven’t done a Creative Labs gadget since we talked about their great little travel dock speakers. So when they called me to ask if I’d like to try their third generation Vado HD camcorder, I was very interested. It has some neat features carried over from earlier models in the Vado HD line such as HDMI out and a wide-angle lens, great for shooting indoors. The new model adds improved quality of video in low light or brightly lit conditions with manual exposure adjustments. Another welcome addition is an external stereo microphone support (Leo liked this a lot because the built-in mics on most mini-camcorders are just so-so) and there’s a headphone jack for private listening. Another interesting feature is the Motion Detection Mode that enables you to program the camera so it begins recording as soon as motion is detected. (Hmmm, security camera, maybe?) It’s Mac and PC compatible. With the new Vado Central 3.0 software users can upload their videos to a number of popular social media sites, including Facebook and YouTube with just one click. (Most mini camcorders can do that too.) You can also do some simple video editing directly in Vado Central 3.0. The third generation Vado HD has better compression but can still hold more than 90 minutes of HD quality video or up to 7,000 still photos. It has 4GB of onboard storage. There’s no SD card slot, but there is a removable, rechargeable battery. Creative Labs says it provides more than two hours of recording or viewing. You recharge the battery and upload videos via the flexible, pull-out USB cable. The flexible cable is easier to match up with USB ports on laptops. (Extra batteries and an AC wall plug-in battery charger are also available.) The camera is about the size of deck of cards, but a bit thinner. Available in black or white for $179.99.

For more information about the complete line of Creative Vado Pocket Video Cams visit www.myvado.com.

Here’s 6 minute tour of the Gizneyland Studio I shot with the Vado right out the box. http://tinyurl.com/yzoz3se

And other folks Vado videos: http://myvado.com/videos/video.aspx?vd=124

Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw994