Last week Cisco announced that it was shutting down its Flip video camera business that it bought just two years ago from Pure Digital for $590 million dollars. It was their bid to tackle the consumer market, a segment that is apparently beyond their expertise. There are many reasons behind their decision.
The product had been quite popular at one time with many celebrities toting around Flip cams, but with the onslaught of smartphone cameras—now boasting up to 1080p full HD along with instant sharing capabilities via WiFi and data plans, plus almost every other feature you can imagine—even the promising FlipLive WiFi-enabled camera is a step too late. On flip side, Flip die-hards feel there is still hope for the brand and the product, but that Cisco is simply giving up.