I’m sure I’m not the only one who scratched their head back when Cisco announced their acquisition of Pure Digital Technologies (makers of the Flip) back in May of 2009. While the product seemed nifty enough at the time, it was clearly outside of Cisco’s comfort zone organizationally. 

In the time since that acquisition, video recording even HD-quality video has gone from a product category to a feature across a broad range of devices, from PC laptops to iPods to mobile phones and even digital still cameras. As quality improved and storage capacities increased, the product category itself began to make less and less sense as a whole. The fact that it had nothing to do with Cisco’s core business or expertise is a non-issue here - the consumer video recorder market is dead. Pro-sumer models and of course higher end commercial gear will continue to successfully address those market needs.

Flip’s recent high profile ad campaigns were head-scratchers, and I think reflected the last attempt to rescue the device category not based on its capabilities as a camera, but as a canvas for self expression. This clearly felt to me like flailing, a fight for relevance. Now, it’s an expense eulogy.