Creative Vado

Creative Vado

The Vado is any of a series of pocket video cameras developed and manufactured by Creative Labs. The original 640x480 VGA resolution Vado was first introduced in May 2008. A high-definition model, the Creative Vado HD was then made available in December 2008. Designed to be handheld and easily portable, the Vado series of pocket camcorders compete directly with similar devices such as the Flip Video and Sony Bloggie.

All Creative Vado and Creative Vado HD units feature a tripod mount, anti-AC-flicker feature which can be set for 50 Hz and 60 Hz regions, as well as RCA TV out functionality. The image sensors in all Vado units use the CMOS technology with extremely high light sensitivity in low light.

Vados are powered by Lithium-Ion batteries, charged via USB power. The USB connector can be found at the bottom of the unit, and is held in place magnetically. When a USB connection is required, the flexible male A-type USB connector is simply pulled out of its place and connected to a computer's USB port. Vado devices offer two USB modes - A normal mode, which charges whilst allowing data transfer over USB, and an express mode, which enables a fast charge (4 hours to fully charge, as opposed to 7.5 hours in the normal mode), but disallows any form of data transfer.

All Creative Vado and Creative Vado HD units also ship with the Vado Central software, which is stored within the Vado's internal storage. The program only runs off the Vado device itself, and provides simple video editing functions, as well as the ability to upload to online video sharing services, most notably YouTube and Photobucket.