Cisco Systems, Inc. today unveiled a new company-wide restructuring initiative that will sadly cut over 500 jobs and, slightly less sadly, halt production of its Flip Video camcorders.
The Flip Video camcorders, better known as Flip Cams, jump started a market of handheld, easy-to-use video cameras that could record video with the push of a button, and then dump that video onto your computer just as effortlessly. The original Flip cam, marketed as the first "Pure Digital Point & Shoot", was created by Pure Digital Technologies before the company was purchased by Cisco Systems in 2009.
What brought about the demise of the Flip Cam? Simply put, competition. Both from competing electronics companies like Sony and RCA, and from different product segments all together, i.e. the smartphone. The iPhone 4 in my pocket can, among other things, record video at a resolution of 720p, and has apps that allow me to edit and post the footage directly to the Net. Why would I need to carry along something that requires me to tether it to my computer for me to do anything with the footage?
The Flip Cam had a good run. We'll miss it dearly. Now, who wants to predict the next gadget to catch a pink slip on account of its job being taken by your smartphone?
[via Gizmodo]
