You can buy a much, much better camera for $279: better lenses, better sensors, better video, and more features all around. $250 is a point-and-shoot sweet spot, and there's no shortage of cameras at this level that outgun the Slide HD in every possible way. It's one thing to spend $150 on...

The pocket cam's claim to fame is being "good enough." The Flip SlideHD strives to be a little more, adding a sliding touchscreen for watching videos on the camera itself. That's biting off more than it can, or should, chew.

The Flip SlideHD (MSRP $279) is the newest member of Pure Digital's burgeoning family of ultracompact camcorders. From a performance perspective, the SlideHD doesn't offer much of an improvement over previous models—but the camcorder features an innovative playback interface and a new...

If you're considering a Flip camcorder, you need to ask yourself whether longer recording times and the ability to slide out the LCD screen and scroll through your videos on a 3-inch touch-screen are worth a $70 premium (the cost of the MinoHD is $229 and the UltraHD costs only $199).