Panasonic SDR-S10 SD/SDHC Concept Cam

Panasonic's SDR-S10. It's small (a mere 0.40 lbs.), it's black, it's "water resistant," and it's cheap, with an MSRP of just $399. It's also drop-protected from a height of four feet - so feel free to knock it off your table every once in a while - just don't drop it off the ski lift. The choice of SD/SDHC memory cards for video recording made it possible for the company to pack a full-fledged camcorder into PDA-sized body (slightly thicker but slightly narrower than a Treo), and it echoes the company's drift away from traditional removable media like cassettes and DVDs.

The SDR-S10 encapsulates Panasonic's flash memory strategy in a slimmed-down body design optimized more for ease, style, and speed than performance or video quality. It's a quirky camcorder that makes the kinds of compromises you'd expect to see in an ultra-compact - but it's also one of the smallest, coolest-looking cams around. We think the SDR-S10 will serve the YouTube generation well, even if Panasonic die-hards shake their heads at its pedestrian imaging and uptown looks.

The SDR-S10 is also claimed by Panasonic to offer users the same casual freedom as is enjoyed when snapping everyday photos with a compact still image camera.