A recent rumors told that the Cisco has made a tough decision, to shut down their Flip Video Camera business. Of course the rumors makes the users shocked and wondering what to do with their Flip Video Camera now. You can find the truth of that rumors in some news I have retrieved from several online media that you can read below:
TechCrunch.Com :
Wow. Cisco has just issued a release stating that in a strategic plan to “align its operations,” the company will exit parts of its consumer businesses and realign the remaining consumer business to support four of its five key company priorities: core routing, switching and services; collaboration; architectures; and video. One of the casualties of this realignment: Cisco’s video camera Flip business, which was part of its $590 million acquisition of Pure Digital.
As part of the plan, Cisco will close down its Flip business and “support current FlipShare customers and partners with a transition plan.” Cisco will also refocus its Home Networking business and will integrate Cisco umi into the company’s Business TelePresence product line. As part of the transition, Cisco plans to eliminate 550 jobs.
Cisco CEO John Chambers issued this statement: “We are making key, targeted moves as we align operations in support of our network-centric platform strategy…As we move forward, our consumer efforts will focus on how we help our enterprise and service provider customers optimize and expand their offerings for consumers, and help ensure the network’s ability to deliver on those offerings.”
So Cisco is focusing on its enterprise customers, and is basically shutting down its consumer facing products. The writing was on the wall for the Flip video business. In a world where consumers can now record and stream video directly from their iPhone, Android or BlackBerry phone, Flip’s video camera business is no longer novel or useful.
Cisco also pulled the plug on its web email product earlier this year. Chambers recently wrote a regretful, ‘mea culpa’ note highlighting that the company had disappointed investors and lost credibility. In an effort to refocus the company, Chambers said that “we will take bold steps and we will make tough decisions.” Clearly one of these decisions involves killing the Flip video camera business.
The popular Flip video camera is no more, with Cisco announcing Tuesday it “will exit aspects of its consumer businesses,” which includes shutting down the Flip.
In a statement, Cisco says that it is realigning its consumer businesses to “support four of its five key company priorities.” On the subject of the Flip, Cisco says it will “close down the Flip business and support current FlipShare customers and partners with a transition plan.”
Cisco purchased Flip maker Pure Digital for $590 million in 2009. At the time, the move struck some as odd, but the potential of a Wi-Fi enabled Flip made some sense. Sort of.
Such a product has never materialized (even if FCC reports do indicate such a device exists). Meanwhile, the allure of the Flip — low cost video that can easily be uploaded to websites like Facebook or YouTube — was superseded by video cameras built into smartphones. In addition to the video being as good (if not better) on modern smartphones, phones have a built-in data connection and can upload video directly to the web — no computer required.
It looks like the Flip was simply an intermediary product. Much like the netbook, which has been largely usurped by lower-cost full laptops and tablets like the iPad, the Flip was simply a product that disrupted markets before moving aside for a true successor.
Bet you didn’t see this one coming, Cisco has just confirmed with Pocket-lint that it is killing the Flip Video brand, closing down the business and ceasing production of all models.
“Stopping the business rather than selling it was the best course of action,” Cisco’s global head of public relations exclusively told Pocket-lint on Tuesday, in response to our query on why the sudden decision.
In the dramatic move, the company will cease all production of Flip Video products globally, but has said that it will support the company’s FlipShare service for existing customers, while it formulates a “transition plan.”
"We are making key, targeted moves as we align operations in support of our network-centric platform strategy," said John Chambers, Cisco chairman and CEO. "As we move forward, our consumer efforts will focus on how we help our enterprise and service provider customers optimize and expand their offerings for consumers, and help ensure the network's ability to deliver on those offerings."
When asked whether the Flip Video division wasn’t earning its keep, Tillman side-tracked the answer, perhaps suggesting that the pocket camcorders are fast losing out to mobile phones with 720p video recording capability.
Tillman says that Cisco will instead focus on its core products and services moving forward.
Cisco bought the massively popular Flip Video business only a couple of years ago.
What do you think? Is there no future for handheld camcorders, considering that smartphones can record HD video? Let us know in the comments below...
The Flip may be dead but we've put together a round-up of alternatives for your consideration.
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