Digital Home Thoughts: Cisco Kills the Flip Camera

"Don't look now, but the Flip camera is officially dead. Cisco announced Tuesday morning that it is killing off the line of pocketable video cameras in order to refocus the company around home networking and video. The news was a surprise to even Flip critics, leaving everyone wondering why Cisco bothered to buy Pure Digital (the Flip's former parent company) for $590 million just two years ago."

This is a shame, but it wasn't hard to see it coming - it never made a lick of sense to me for Cisco to purchase Pure Digital, the creators of this product. Cisco had no heart for this type of consumer business. Flip cameras essentially defined this part of the technology space starting a few years ago: they were small, easy to use, had great battery life, sufficient storage, and were perfect for simple videos. The coming of smartphones with HD video capture capabilities put a crimp in the sales of these devices, though I still feel there's a lot they can offer. I have two such devices in my possession right now - a Flip Mino HD and a Sony Bloggie - and both last a long time on a charge, are simple to use, and can be left within easy reach for capturing special moments. My cell phone on the other hand is often in my home office, or jacket, and not typically within reach. For most people though, capturing a video with their phone - then immediately uploading it - is the winning combination and why these devices weren't going to be in every home.