Video, in its various forms, has become the signature communication medium of the past few years. Think of YouTube, internet-based television and web-based services such as Joost (www.joost.com ), internet programme guide In­vision TV (www.invision.tv ) and video search engines such as blinkx (www.blinkx.com ) and truveo (www.truveo.com ).

But making your own video clips is still surprisingly difficult, particularly if you use a traditional camcorder - the rechargeable battery on mine is always flat when I remember to dig it out and I still have not figured out what all the dials and buttons are for.

But for high-quality home videos there is no substitute for a handheld camcorder and a good video editing suite such as Pinnacle Studio or Adobe Premier Elements

The latest - such as Panasonic's superb HDC-SD9, which I tested recently (www.panasonic.com ) and costs about $460 - fit into the palm of your hand, come with 3CCD (charge coupled device) light sensors and record true high-definition video in AVCHD (ad­vanced video codec high definition) format on to a postage stamp-sized SD (secure digital) card that can be plugged straight into any PC with a memory card reader.

For most people, an HD camcorder is probably overkill. Fortunately there are other options, including the many digital still cameras that include video recording capabilities and mobile phones that can record and upload video to services such as Google's YouTube via MMS (multimedia messaging service).

Generally, however, most digital still cameras and mobile phones pro­duce only short, relatively low-quality video clips while traditional camcorders are complex and expensive.

Last year a start-up called Pure Digital (www.puredigital.com) came up with a radical alternative - the Flip Camcorder, a flash-memory-based device that can record 60 minutes of VGA-quality video (www.theflip.com). The idea was straightforward - a super-simple, non-intimidating, low-cost camcorder with its own integrated software and USB connector that plugs into nearly any PC, removing the need for cables and external video editing software.

The original Flip camcorder was an enormous hit - more than 1m were sold in the first year - and has spawned a series of sub-$200 imitations. Since then Pure Digital has followed up with two new models, the Flip Ultra and Flip Mino, launched in the US a few months ago and in the UK last week through Flip Video UK (www.flipvideo.co.uk ).

My TV field producer daughter has been helping me to test the Flip Mino, which costs $180 (£114 in the UK) and I have been generally impressed.

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First, the Mino is quite a bit smaller than the Ultra and much cooler. The glossy black and silver case of my review unit has curved edges and slips into a pocket.

Like the earlier Flip models, which are still available, it has the pop-out USB plug that, when inserted into a computer, automatically transfers video on to the PC and on to video-sharing sites such as YouTube and MySpace.

However, while the earlier models run on two AA batteries, the Mino has an internal rechargeable battery that will power the camcorder for about four hours and is recharged by plugging into a PC. The Mino also has touch-sensitive buttons that recede into the casing but, perhaps most strikingly, buttons are kept to a minimum.

Using the Flip Mino could not be easier, as long as your fingers are not particularly large. Press the power button on the side, hit the red button to start recording, set the "plus" or "minus" buttons to zoom and the red button again to stop recording. Playback is equally easy and downloading video clips on to a Mac or Windows PC is straightforward and started automatically when I plugged in the flip-out USB connector.

Like the Mino itself, the software is rather basic. Among its features, it allows users to rename a video clip, trim its start and finish, combine lots of clips and share clips via websites such as AOL Video, YouTube and My SpaceTV, or send them as e-mail attachments. If you want more advanced editing features, you can always load the clips into a more sophisticated software package.

Video quality is reasonable, even in low light conditions indoors, although using the digital zoom markedly increases graininess. But do not expect HD quality. For the moment, at least, you will need a more expensive camcorder for that.

Like earlier models, the Mino records video in Mpeg-4 format at 30 frames per second and 640x480 pixels - similar quality to much more expensive digital still cameras. Sound quality is also good and a definite improvement over the original Flip camcorder.

The Mino has some other neat features that help ease of use. For example, the touch-sensitive buttons are also context-sensitive and light up when their function is available: holding the record button while the camera starts up - which takes about three seconds - provides access to settings such as date and time stamps.

The minimalist, low-cost design has disadvantages. For example, there is no image stabilisation so using a tripod - with the built-in tripod socket on the base - is a good idea; and the LCD screen is small. Other features on my wish-list would be a socket for an external microphone, wireless connectivity and supports for HD recording - but only if such features could be incorporated without detracting from the Flip Mino's primary appeal: its simplicity.

paul.taylor@ft.comVisit Paul Taylor's new forum where he answers your questions on gadgets, gizmos, software and services at http://blogs.ft.com/gadgetguru