My review of this product stems from a parent's point of view and excitement about any piece of electronic equipment that my children can figure out and use safely. My son got a Pure Digital Flip Video Ultra (2 GB) Camcorder after watching and playing with his aunt's. Granted he is only 7 years old and she is just barely 12, so they enjoy a lot of the same things, and interact more as cousins than anything else. She had received this for a gift and used it to tape some recent family events, including Thanksgiving, a wedding and the Christmas holidays.

I admit I didn't even know what this product was - my new stepfather showed it to me, proud of his electronic purchase for his preteen daughter. I really liked it and thought it was a neat idea, and then it became of more interest to me as my son showed a great deal of interest in it. We purchased ours at local Walmart's for around $130, and they are easily purchased on-line at various stores as well.

Briefly the Pure Digital Flip Video Ultra (2 GB) Camcorder comes in a variety of kid friendly colors (she getting pink, my son getting black), but they all work the same. It's a thin, rectangular electronic device with simple to use buttons that records moments on tape. It's about the size of a hand held game and very lightweight. It comes with a wrist strap to help keep it with you. I have found it to be very user friendly and kid friendly as well.

The Pure Digital Flip Video Ultra (2 GB) Camcorder takes movie pictures only - it is not intended as a camera and will not take "still" pictures. It will take "clips" of just a few seconds up to longer periods of time (I've read it can record for 30 to 45 minutes at least) - the longest we have tried is about 3-5 minutes. Most of our clips are shorter. This model holds up to 60 minutes of recorded video. It has 2 GB of memory.

This camcorder has a few very easy to use and interpret buttons. There is a central, red record button that is very easy to press. Additionally there is a square window to look at and view the subject you are taping. The screen is 1.5 inches overall. Surrounding the button is a panel with 4 arrows, to help with zooming and forwarding between different videos you have caught. There is a delete or "trash" button to the right of this, and a "play" button to the left. All of the video can be captured and viewed on the same system. Videos you do not like can easily be trashed, thereby freeing up space to record other things.

The system comes with a USB port to upload the videos to the computer. We found this very easy to do, much like uploading videos from our digital camera (though this takes a longer video than our current digital). We were then able to quickly share videos via email with family and friends. There is also a plug in to show the videos on the TV, giving your audience a bigger view. Our kids and family like this - often the kids go off somewhere with the Pure Digital Flip Video Ultra (2 GB) Camcorder, take all sorts of silly and "secret" videos of the family, and then we sit down to play them all. A nice case comes as well to help protect it.

The whole system takes 2 AA batteries - something easy for us to have on hand and store. We've not had to change the batteries yet and have used the camera on and off for about a month now - then again, our clips are shorter but the kids tend to leave this on long periods of time while catching and deleting videos. I'd say personally it's the most battery friendly product I have used in a while - a lot of toys and things we have here eat through batteries! Most of the system is all enclosed, and it's been easy to store the connecting TV cable somewhere nearby.

We noticed that the picture quality on this was pretty good. Fairly crisp and clear and we felt comfortable with it capturing day to day family moments. I wouldn't see this as the camcorder to use as, say, the only video you have for something like a wedding or a baby's birth, etc. Our son really enjoys being able to record his perspective on this as well as his take on events and happenings. Thanks to him I've actually gotten to see some episodes of things his 2 year old sister was doing while I was taking care of our newborn!

I love that he feels so comfortable using this and proud of his abilities to take family videos. It's been funny to see what he takes videos of and to have these recordings. It's also been really handy as a busy mom of 3 to have a quick way to grab and go record a funny or precious moment and then to share with others. A lot of times I'll have my husband view something cute one of the kids does while he's been at work, etc. It's also been an excellent way to involve and loop in the assortment of relatives, grandparents especially.

I have to say if my 7 year old can use this safely and effectively than anyone can. I see this making a great gift for kids of his age and above. I could easily see students taking this camcorder on a field trip or school project - and then using the videos to share with family and friends, or even as part of a project for school. Since the device is so lightweight and portable it can make a better option than some other camcorders, and again if you were looking to find a kid friendly camcorder, then I think this is an excellent choice.