This is not good news to those of us using Flip Video Cameras with our students — Cisco has just announced they’re shutting the business down. Read about it at Farewell, Flip Camera over at Read Write Web and at Tech Crunch’s post, Cisco To Shut Down Flip Video Camera Business; Will Give Pink Slips To 550 Employees.
Cisco says “… it will support current FlipShare customers and partners during a transition plan” — whatever that means.
Smartphones that can take video have killed Flip, but that really isn’t going to help many of us who have students who still can’t afford Smartphones….
I’ll obviously be adding this news to The Best Sources For Advice On Using Flip Video Cameras.
It’s too bad about the Flip. Once they were bought by Cisco, the slide began. Cisco’s excuse about smartphone camera’s is just an excuse. For those that have smartphones (still a minority of the population), there’s no need for a pocket camcorder. But for many others, including classrooms, there’s still a market. The problem for Cisco is they let the product stagnate, while competitors kept improving their products.
Luckily, the competitors are still around, including: RCA, Kodak, Sony, Sanyo, and others…