A couple of us around the PC Mag offices got our hands on Creative's snazzy new Vado camcorders. While I've still got a good deal of hands-on testing to perform with the device, I have to admit that I was pretty enamored with the thing from the get-go, nearly ready to retire my trusted Flip from the moment I took the Vado out of the box and turned it on (which I could do immediately, seeing as how the thing has a removable, rechargeable battery, unlike the Flip's unfortunate reliance on AAs).

The Flip really pioneered the low-end camcorder space, which is how it managed to snag a whopping 17-percent market share, according to the New York Times. Creative had the advantage of using the Flip as a model for its own entry, and, so far has I can tell, has managed to improve on it in just about every way, including the aforementioned battery, a larger screen, better zoom and picture quality, a lower price, and a significantly thinner body.

And of course, one day later, this pops up on Engadget. An apparently new version of the Flip leaked into a B&H catalog, bearing a release date of June 4. All we can surmise about the device is that it's being dubbed the Mino and carrying a $179 price tag. Also, if the picture is to be believed, the device is much slimmer than its predecessor. Perhaps Pure Ultra is introducing the equivalent of a Flip Nano?

Whatever the specs are, the Vado still has the price beat, at $99.