Hey Arnie,

Not sure how I missed this post, my apologies.  Since I was new to the mini-camera arena, I really didn't have much in terms of hard criteria – except maybe cost.  I wasn't about to spend over $300 for a mini-camera so that eliminated a few options. 

I took a look at the Go Pro series – they had good specs but are boxy and ugly.  Some others were more sleek and cost less than $80 – but the user reviews were poor.  It finally came down to the Contour HD series and the Drift x170.  While the contour appears much smaller and shoots in HD, it didn't have a remote, isn't splash proof, no LCD screen and costs $50 to $150 dollars more.

From that perspective, the decision was easy.  Hope this helps!