Best Pocket Camcorders: Flip Ultra HD vs Vado HD
So I just spent A LOT of time looking at what is the best pocket camcorder. I looked at:
(links are to their amazon.com page)
Flip Ultra
Flip Ultra HD
Flip Mino HD
Creative Vado
Creative Vado HD
Kodak Zi6
Kodak Zx1
Sony Webbie HD
Ok it all came down to the Flip Ultra HD and the Creative Vado HD. Don't even bother considering the others because they are crap compared to these two. 
Which is better? It took me ages to come to a conclusion. I'll break it down for you.
Looks: VadoHD
VadoHD wins because it is slim and sexy.
Battery/Battery Life: UltraHD
VadoHD and the UltraHD have a removable rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Only rechargeable through USB unless you buy a separate charger accessory. Both have a battery life of about 2 hours. The UltraHD allows the use of normal AA batteries once the Li-ion battery runs out thus making it the winner.
Record Time: Tie
On the highest HD setting for both cameras, they can only record 2 hours onto their 8GB internal memory. Though the VadoHD does allow you to record in SD which allows you to record more time but since the battery runs out after 2 hours, there is no point.
Video Quality: UltraHD
The VadoHD does have a very nice wide-angle lens which allows you to capture more stuff in the video. And most of the daytime shots between the two look almost the same. But UltraHD wins because it has slightly better low light videos.
Sound Quality: UltraHD
The VadoHD uses mono while the UltraHD uses stereo so the UltraHD captures more sound at better quality.
Accessories: VadoHD
The accessories that come with the Vado include a silicone case (which is nice) and a HDMI cable. The UltraHD doesn't even come with an HDMI cable.
Price: VadoHD
The the VadoHD first came out it was selling for $230 but it is now about $150. The UltraHD had just come out so it is still it's retail price of $200.
Computer Compatibility: UltraHD
The VadoHD requires you to install a codec onto the computer you want to use to upload your videos online while the UltraHD doesn't. So the UltraHD is more friend computer friendly.
My decision: Totally based on what I want out of a camera, I've finally decided to go with the flip UltraHD. Though it is more expensive and fat, I like the better audio quality and the ability to use normal batteries (just in case). What really held me back from making my decision was Vado's wide angle lens, its slim form factor, and price. But I really wanted the best video quality so I decided to go with the Flip UltraHD.
Here's a video of a guy comparing the 2.
I ordered my Vado HD last week. Originally I was going to purchase the Flip Mino HD, but then decided to go with the VADO since I liked the 8 GB memory (twice that of the FLIP) and I researched a number of reviews on sites all over the Internet that said that while the picture was not as good as the MINO, it was close and meanwhile a number of features (like the ability to change resolution to get up to 8 hours, use of swappable rechargable battery, etc.) were better on the VADO.
Well I got my unit on Monday (about 5 days ago). It was very timely, because the next day I was attending my small children's holiday concert at their pre-school and this gave me a perfect chance to try out the device.
On the plus side, the packaging was decent, the product came with a nice plastic protective cover and the form factor and functionality were intuitive and easy to use.
The immediate cons were that the instructions (if you can call them that) included in the box are laughably basic. It's literally a hard to read (tiny letters) pamphlet, and basically not very helpful. However, it was enough to figure out how to use the device.
While the device is sturdy enough, I did not care for the design of the "flip out" USB connector, it felt a bit flimsy. Unfortunately, this connector seems designed to use more so with a Laptop than a desktop in terms of the configuration of the USB connector since the device hangs off of it. Fortunately, there was an extender cable in the box (a plus), however, the device seems not to be able to charge through the extender cord (at least it did not for me).
The Video quality is decent (in the HD+ mode). However, the biggest issue I experienced right away was that the AUDIO and VIDEO were out of sync when I transferred any of the recorded Video files to my computer. It played properly on the device, but when I transferred the AVI video files from the VADO to my PC or laptop (I tried on two different computers to make sure it was not just my machine at fault), the sound played correctly, but the VIDEO went too slow: i.e., the sound and the video did not match up.