Cisco's consumer failures (photos)
The networking giant is killing the Flip video business to "realign" its priorities. But Flip isn't the only consumer-oriented venture that hasn't worked out for Cisco.
Flip video
Cisco purchased Pure Digital, the maker of the popular flash-based camera because it was clearly the leader in its field. The Flip Video set itself apart by making the process of creating, editing, and uploading short videos to sites like YouTube very uncomplicated. In the two years before Cisco bought it, Pure Digital--a nobody in the consumer electronics world--said it sold 2 million devices.
Linksys Wireless Home Audio System
It ultimately never worked as advertised.
FlipShare TV
Rather than building the video-sharing capability directly into the already popular Flip camera, it came up with the FlipShare TV, which just seemed like extraneous hardware that served a single purpose.
It was never really heard from again after the initial introduction.
Linksys iPhone
Cisco ended up settling with Apple after a trademark dispute over the name arose, and the original iPhone went away rather quietly.
Linksys Media Extender with DVD
Ultimately it joined the rest of the failed media extenders that came and went around the same time, all of them meant to let consumers stream audio, video, and photos from a Windows PC. Many consumers just opted for a Microsoft Xbox 360 instead, which was close in price and offered most of the same features for the Windows Media Center experience, plus it was a popular video game console.
Cisco Umi
The Umi HD telepresence service--which is made up of a Cisco-issued HD camera with an embedded microphone, a set-top box, and a remote, and requires an HDTV connected the Web--allows people to make video conference calls using their TV.
While the product won't live on in its current incarnation, the main elements will be wrapped into Cisco's telepresence offering for business customers.