The quest for the coolest gadget for many people ultimately boils down to finding a device that merges form, usability, usefulness, and time saving in one. When I think of the time wasted using a lot of video capture tools, it blows my mind that a more time efficient way of shooting a video and uploading it to your computer hasn’t been a key innovation from major gadget producers.

I think I’ve finally found that mix of effectiveness and ease of transfer in the Flip Ultra Video Camera. While it’s not the perfect gadget for the pro video photographer among us, it’s mix of over simplified usability and accessories makes it a great tool for the amateur shooter.

Possibly the coolest feature the Flip offers is its simple flip-out USB stick, which makes uploading videos as simple as whipping out the on-board peripheral and plugging it right into your port. The video transfer couldn’t be any easier unless it did it for you (which it probably will someday.)

Even more impressive is the line of accessories that Flip is bringing to the table for such a low-end device. They already offer an Action Mount, which is pretty much a standard tripod screw mount which can be attached to almost any surface. Even more exciting, Flip is planning on releasing an Underwater Housing unit soon, which will proved a safe enclosure for your camcorder if you want to capture those pool shots when you’re having some fun in the sun. For the price of $140 for a 2GB Flip Ultra, we’d say this is quite the steal for the amateur shooter or vlogger.

Product Page via NotCot