With all the layoffs we've been seeing lately, it looks like an increasing number of tech professionals will be going mercenary in order to pay the bills. Of course, Engadget does not condone industrial espionage in any way, shape or form -- but if you do happen to find yourself "in the cold," as Le Carré used to say, you might consider Swann's MovieStick. This thing is small enough to fit inside a packet of gum, includes a lithium-ion battery (rechargeable via USB) and can store up to 2.5 hours of video on a 2GB MicroSD card (not included). There is no word yet on release date, video quality or battery life, but we're sure that this $119.99 (retail) beauty is just the trick for all those patented industrial processes you plan on stealing. But don't steal them. For realz.

While it certainly didn't appeal to everybody, Pure Digital's Flip Video Ultra cheapcorder nonetheless found quite the audience, which has not surprisingly led to some raised expectations for the company's just-released follow-up, the Flip Mino. Judging from the first batch of reviews, however, it looks like Pure Digital has mostly managed to hit the mark ($30 premium notwithstanding), even if it still likely won't be getting folks to ditch their more full-featured cameras. Among the first out of the gate with a review was Laptop Magazine, which put the Ultra and Mino head-to-head and found that Mino won out in terms of design, specs, and power options, although the Ultra hung on to an edge in video quality, which it says remained "consistently brighter," particularly in low-light conditions. The Wall Street Journal's Mossberg Solution (not Moss himself) didn't have as much of a problem with the video quality (given the expectations), but it did find that while the Mino's touch-sensitive buttons look great, "they aren't as functional as they needed to be." Wired's Gadget Lab also had some quibbles about the hard to press buttons, but that wasn't enough to stop it from handing out an initial rating of 8 out of 10 (a more in-depth review is promised for later), with the cam's slimmer design and ability to get video up onto the web quickly winning it high marks. If that still hasn't made up your mind, you can find some sample videos taken with the camera and plenty more details by hitting up the links below.

Read - Laptop Magazine ("the Mino won three out of the four rounds," but not the biggest category: video quality)
Read - Mossberg Solution ("looks much cooler than older models")
Read - Gadget Lab (8 out of 10)

It looks like the budget-minded folks at Exemode are back for one more go 'round, and they're now bumping things up into HD territory with their new DV580HD camcorder. While we obviously can't vouch for its overall quality, the camera will apparently let you record 720p video onto SDHC cards up to 8GB (or 32MB of internal memory in a pinch), or capture still images at up to 8 megapixels, although it seems you'll have to make do without an optical zoom of any sort. On the upside, it does only cost €155 (or about $220), and it says "HD" in big shiny letters, so it can't be all bad.

[Via Akihabara News]

While there's certainly no shortage of wearable cameras out there, industrial designer Johan Frossen's latest concept looks to boast a few innovations over the current crop, although you likely won't be able to take advantage of them any time soon. As you can see, the device is designed to wrap around your neck which, in addition to making a fashion statement, keeps your hands free to do other work. Other less than common features include a fisheye lens to capture your surroundings, and no storage on the camera itself, with everything instead transmitted wirelessly to your cellphone (or other device, presumably). What's more, while the device is a concept, it was apparently done "in collaboration with Sony Ericsson," so it would seem to be at least remotely possible that it could eventually see the light of day in one form or another.

[Via Yanko Design]

Toshiba looks set to release a new digital video camera for those interested in a little point and shoot action, with its new Camileo Pro offering some slight advantages over the previous plain old Camileo. This one boasts a 7 megapixel sensor, according to Le Journal du Geek, and will capture 640 x 480 video in either MPEG-4 or AVI formats, with a 2.5-inch LCD, 3x optical zoom, SD card slot, and 64MB of internal storage rounding out the specs. While there doesn't appear to be any word of a North America release, those in Europe will be able to get their hands on one for 199€ ($268).