Gadgets & Gizmos

From the staff of the Tampa Bay Times

The FLIP camera is dead, smartphones are main suspects



The FLIP is dead. Preliminary evidence collected at the scene indicates many smartphones are responsible for the killing.


Cisco announced today production of the popular FLIP video cameras will immediately cease, worldwide. The brand is going the way of the dodo bird and straight into extinction. The company purchased FLIP in 2009, following three years of popularity after the camera's launch in 2006. The move is part of a general restructuring by the company that also includes layoffs of 550 employees. Cisco said they will continue to support the Flipshare service for existing customers.

With so many HD video-capable smartphones available now, this really isn't a surprise. The FLIP was innovative when it first came out and reached near-cult status at it's peak, but over time it became a one-trick pony. If you have a modern smartphone do you really want to carry a second, pocket video camera too? The answer to that question is the motive for this killing.

Reaction on Twitter this morning had some wondering why Cisco didn't try to sell FLIP to another company, instead of killing the brand. I'm not sure another company would do any better with the Flip in these circumstances, so Cisco did the prudent thing and just let it go.

quick search on this morning showed a good supply of the cameras and accessories, but you can bet the supply will dry up quickly once the word spreads. So if you have always wanted a FLIP or the underwater case for the FLIP you already own, now is the time.

[Last modified: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 11:16am]


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