While it's still surely a mediocre HD camcorder (I mean, it's $120), the EZ209HD is smaller than its predecessors, ditching the SD slot to save space with up to 16GB of MicroSD, while still fitting a larger, 2-inch LCD screen.

Recording up to two hours of video on a single charge, the EZ209HD supports HD, SD and 60fps shooting. Plus it takes 8MP stills and includes HDMI out for direct-to-TV viewing of your footage. All-in-all, the new Small Wonder appears to be much nicer than older models—though you'll have to wait until spring to buy one.

Also, if you are at the show, the RCA/Audiovox booth will be giving away 4,000 30 of these camcorders. Boy did I mishear that one. They're giving away 10,000 keychains though.

Ever since the world caught wind of the Pure Digital Flip cam's success, super-cheap digital pocket camcorders have sprouted up everywhere. With everyone and their mother trying to become the next Lil Show Stoppa or Soulja Girl, people need a cheap and easy way to capture those magic moments. I tested six of these cams—from Creative, RCA/Audiovox, DXG and Pure Digital—all $180 or less. Here are samples of all of their videos in various conditions, and an overall look at how they stack up:

Video samples: I tested the camcorders in the three most common situations you'll use them for: indoors with full light, indoors with low light, and outdoors. In the videos, I stood in the same place with each camera. As you can see, different cameras capture different areas. Watch as these two goofballs get their line dance on and destroy the Great American Songbook, and you will easily spot the difference in quality between the recordings.

Indoor, full light:

Indoor, low light:

Outdoors:

The Runners-Up (in no particular order):

DXG 569-V HD: The best thing about this cam is that it looks very fancy. The worst thing is that it isn't. The DXG took the worst overall video of the bunch even though it claims to record in HD. Also, the 3 AAAs ran out after about 25 minutes of recording—I should've realized this would be a problem when I saw the unit came bundled with rechargeable batteries and a charger. Still, it's nice that it has a still camera option, and you could probably trick your friends into thinking you have a pricier Xacti for a minute.

Creative Vado: The Vado is the most non-descript camera of the bunch. Boring UI, crappy video quality and a plain outer shell make it a snoozer. However, it's about as thin as the Mino, very cheap and has no frills at all, making it a decent option for total luddites or technophobes.

RCA Small Wonder EZ210: I naturally gravitated to the EZ210 because of it's giant screen, big buttons, and retro look. Seriously, for all the tech inside, the camcorder looks like it was made in 1982. Even though the EZ210 is the most welcoming cam of the bunch, in the end it's about video quality and this one wasn't cutting it. It's a fair price, and I love the expandable memory, so it's a close 2nd place option.

RCA Small Wonder EZ200: The EZ200 is all over the map. After seeing the nice quality of the EZ210's daylight video, I was shocked to see how grainy and slow the EZ200's daylight footage was—it looked like an old-fashioned home film camera. Also, the flip out screen is hokey to me, but it's great for people who like to look at themselves while lipsynching to Mr. Roboto. Complaints aside, I was pleasantly surprised that the EZ200 took halfway decent low-light video. That plus the cheap price and expandable memory make this one a reasonable bet for a starter cam.

Flip Mino: The Mino is thin, has a great look and feel, and captures excellent video, but it's not the winner for a few reasons. Most importantly, it has a narrower-angled lens than just about every other camera in the test—I couldn't get my whole couch into the shot no matter how I tried. Also, the sound wasn't very good. Finally, this week I'm on the other side of the neverending rechargeable vs. AA debate, and between the Li-ion battery and non-upgradeable memory, the Mino is a little too closed for my tastes. However, if you're looking purely for video quality, Mino is a no brainer.

And the winner is...

Flip Ultra: Yes, the first is still the best, and there are good reasons why so many companies want to capture its success: The Ultra works, and it works well. Low light video is great, the camera feels good in your hand, and it's so simple that you could probably train your cat to record their own cute videos with it. The small screen is a drawback, but it captures a good chunk of space. The Ultra is the best value of the bunch when you consider the criteria, remaining the Cadillac of cheap pocket camcorders.

[Special thanks to the singers and dancers, who asked to be known as Rocko Money and Inter Minetti!!]

RCA EXPANDS POPULAR SMALL WONDER LINE OF DIGITAL CAMCORDERS TO FOUR AFFORDABLE, EASY-TO-USE MODELS IN 2008

Small Wonder Facilitates Easy Upload to YouTube

LAS VEGAS, January 7, 2008 - RCA is expanding its popular Small Wonder line of affordable digital camcorders with four easy-to-use models, all with the capability of uploading video content to YouTube. The new versions include a high-def-capable Small Wonder Camcorder and a versatile, travel-worthy model.

Designed to meet the needs of consumers who want an inexpensive and simple way to capture and share precious memories, each of the new camcorders is extremely compact and stores video on convenient SD or microSD cards (depending on the model). No need to mess with tapes, and no more fast forwarding or rewinding.

Operation is as easy as it gets — just hit the red record button and watch the action unfold on the onboard color LCD screen. You can instantly play (and delete) video clips on the color LCD or connect the camcorder to your TV for big-screen viewing. In keeping with RCA's previous Small Wonder camcorders, there's no need to worry about recharging batteries because the new models run on two AA batteries. A convenient USB arm facilitates quick connections to your PC when you want to archive footage.

RCA makes it simple for users to upload and save their favorite Small Wonder video clips. The new models also feature a new version of the built-in Memory Manager™ software making it easier than ever to edit and share your videos online or via e-mail. Plus, there's a convenient new sharing functionality that lets you upload video clips directly to YouTube™ or to Box.net, a secure online storage and sharing service. Another key feature, EZ Grab™, enables the user to select any paused frame in any video and save it as a single .JPG or .BMP image to share with friends and family.

A Camcorder for Everyone

"Studies have shown that there's a significant market for camcorders that are affordable and simple to operate, which is what the Small Wonder line is all about," said Tom Malone, president of Audiovox Electronics Corp., which recently acquired Thomson Americas Audio/Video and Accessory businesses, including the RCA brand for audio/video products. "With the introduction of these four new models, we now offer a camcorder for just about everyone, including moms, dads, kids, grandparents, and vacationers who want a compact and simply way to document their travels."

Coming mid year and aimed at consumers who want simplicity as well as excellent image quality, the top-of-the-line EZ300HD has a 2.4-inch LCD screen with improved viewing in bright sunlight and 2GB of internal flash memory that offers 30 minutes of recording time in 720p (1280 x 720) HD mode. Six hours of recording time is possible in the lower-quality HQ mode. The camcorder is also optimized for low-light recording.

Ideal for vacationers, the EZ210 Traveler is the most versatile camcorder in RCA's Small Wonder line, boasting a 320x240-resolution 2.4-inch LCD screen, designed for high visibility outdoor use with removable carrying and attachment clips and shock-proof battery contacts. Available in a two tone black and red, the EZ210 ships with a 2GB SD card, which provides one hour of near-DVD-quality recording time and more than six hours using the Web Sharing mode and has a mount for a tripod. Suggested retail price is $149.99.

The EZ205 Pocket camcorder lists for $99.99 and ships with a 1GB microSD card, providing 30 minutes of recording time in near DVD quality mode or six hours in Web Sharing mode. It has a 1.5-inch LCD screen and boasts improved low-light recording, sporting a pearl white finish with champagne-peach colored trim accents.

Available in black, the EZ200 MyLife camcorder features a 1.5-inch LCD screen and ships with a 1GB microSD card to provide 30 minutes of recording time in HQ mode or two hours in Web Sharing mode. The new Web Photo button enables users to quickly capture a video frame and save it as a single image to share later. Total recording time can be significantly expanded with microSD memory cards up to 8GB. Perfect for kids and young adults who want to personalize their camcorder, RCA also offers optional "exact-fit" custom skins from SkinIt™ for the EZ200. Suggested retail price is $89.99.

All the new RCA Small Wonder models have web photo capability and memory expansion through a SD or microSD card slot.

The higher compression rate means that more compact HD signals can be blasted over a network for a better overall picture, which is good news because HD signals are already beating Galactus at Look Who's Bigger. Hopefully we'll see these chips being used in a variety of Panasonic products soon. – Kevin Hall

Press Release [Panasonic, via Tech.co.uk]

The unit features a 12.1-inch transreflective LED-backlit display, a Core 2 Duo CPU, and unlike most absurdly small ultraportables, it comes with a built-in optical drive (the only laptop to include a 7mm-thin optical drive). Compared with the competition, the R500 is packing way more power for your money. We spent some time with it last month and it's ridiculously light, but the good thing is that it doesn't feel flimsy. The keyboard is solid (and not overly small) and the screen is one of the best I've seen on an ultraportable. The unit is available for $1,999 (starting price). – Louis Ramirez

Press Release

The EZ105 Small Wonder is for the simple types who just want to record video without any big fancy tape-loading camcorder and it retails for a very nice $129. The domain name for the camcorder (mysmallwonder.com) could use some work, though. – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Gearlog]