With its sleek features and lightweight body, Creative Technology’s new compact camcorder baby will be the answer to the prayers of tech-dummies.

Officially launching today, the Creative Vado Pocket Video Camera is touted as allowing users to “See it, shoot it, share it- all in an instant” on its package. This nifty gadget promises to make video taking, sharing and storage “fast, easy and fun”- with its 2-inch widescreen viewing, easy recording functions, and instant sharing of videos onto popular websites like, YouTube and Photobucket.

Style Mile

Weighing a mere 84 grams at just 16mm thick and with a face with slender dimensions of 100mm by 55mm, this slim and compact device is so portable that you’ll want to carry it around everywhere. With its curved edges and a matte body that’s smooth to the touch, the Creative Vado is every inch the dream gadget for those who’re looking for a recording device to take with them on the go, but can’t seem to operate a camcorder to save their own lives. Sadly, it is so light and “plasticky” that it actually feels rather cheap in UrbanWire’s hands.

Opting for a simplistic design, the Creative Vado is nothing too fanciful. Available in Hot Pink or Silver, the Creative Vado has a decent 5cm colour LCD screen, and a built-in retractacble USB connector and a plug-and-play system which is compatible with both Windows and Apple platforms.

Test-driving the Vado

UrbanWire decides to put the Creative Vado to the test by taking it for a stroll in Singapore’s latest garden themed walkway, the 9km-long, HortPark .

We like that Vado allows up to 2 hours of recording with its 2GB in-built flash memory, and best of all, there’s also a countdown timer that tells you exactly how much more recording time you have; meaning you can go crazy shooting videos without worrying that it’ll die on you without warning.

There’s also a built-in microphone and speaker, making this little gadget handy for spontaneous moments, like holding a mock-interview, or capturing a stunt by your friend or a busker’s great gig. Surprisingly, the Vado picks up sound rather well, capturing even the slightest ambient sounds of birds chirping, and children chattering in the park. The playback on the Vado is also loud enough, though it’s clearer in quieter places. The digital zoom of up to 2 times is nothing to shout about, but the rechargeable Lithium-ion battery that gives you 2 hours of battery life per charge is not too bad.

UrbanWire is also impressed with the convenience of downloading files into a computer. On connecting the Creative Vado to a PC, there isn’t any annoying Windows dialog box popping up to make you tell the computer what to do with the device.

However, your computer does need to have the Xvid codec file installed, in order to play back the videos. Unfortunately, it’s a hassle downloading this codec file as it has to be manually downloaded from the link provided in the instructions manual provided in the Vado.

That said, uploading videos to either YouTube or Photobucket is a piece of cake, as you can see from UrbanWire‘s attempt. All you have to do is click on the thumbnails of the videos that you want to upload, followed by clicking on either the YouTube or Photobucket button, and bingo!- a prompt will appear, asking you to key in your account’s password, thus allowing you to upload your videos to the websites directly without even opening your web browser.

A major gripe UrbanWire has is the Vado’s unsatisfactory image quality with a maximum video resolution of just 640 x 480 pixels. It’s a shame that the Vado’s resolution isn’t any higher for something that is bulkier than a camera mobile phone with video recording, or it’ll make a perfect travelling companion. However, it certainly compensates with its handiness and 120 minutes of non-stop recording (a function that handphones lack).

The Vado is also unable to capture photo stills, which is rather puzzling, since it is already a camcorder of sorts and photography is a more low-end functionl.

In a Nutshell

Overall, the Vado is a value-for-money camcorder packed in a lightweight, thin and sleek design. It’s so user-friendly and so dummy-proof that just about anyone, from young children to “tech-illiterate” parents or even grandparents can learn how to operate it in a jiffy without 1 of those thick instruction manuals.

But, Mac users should note that the software in Creative Vado that allows for file-sharing onto sites like YouTube or Photobucket is only available for Windows Operating Systems.

The Creative Vado is available from today onwards at the PC Show and all Creative stores at the suggested retail price of $169.