Check out the Cobra dash cam line on Amazon. Very good, all around $100 for very decent units. I have two, one is about a month old, the other about 8 months. So far so good. Simple, easy to use, and decent video.
I was using my smart phone via "daily roads" app and then "autogaurd pro" app. Both are very good if you typically dock your phone on your windshield, autogaurd pro is better. Might as well have it do some work while its hanging there!