My, how fast the market changes. Just a few years ago, the Flip camera was a blockbuster seller and a bit of a revolutionary.
It represented easy video recording on the go. And it was relatively cheap and practically idiot-proof to use. But alas, the smartphone wave seems to be sweeping the Flip away.
With more and more consumers shooting HD video with their iPhones, Androids and BlackBerrys, who needs a Flip?
Today, Cisco announced that it will be shutting down its Flip camera business and The Flip camera and laying off about 550 employees.
Cisco bet big on Flip barely two years ago, buying its maker, Pure Digital, for $590 million.
It's too bad they didn't find a way to make the technology work for them and for the consumer, but it's also a sign that people are increasingly using one device -- mobile phones -- for a lot of their digital media creation uses.
Personally, I used a Flip several years ago, when they first came out and it was okay. But, smartphones (or even an iPod Touch) now are generally equal, if not better, and more functional.
Will you miss the Flip?
Update: Random thought-- Why the heck didn't Cisco ever build some network connectivity into the Flip?! I don't follow Cisco closely, but when I first heard the news 2 years ago that it was buying Flip, I thought: Cool. Here come the networked cameras. But they were never Wi-Fi or 3G enabled. What's the story behind that?