I equate the Flip camera to the netbook: It served a portion of the market, but due to limitations it just didn't have a long-term demand. My question is what could Cisco have done to keep Flip cameras relevant?
Back when these Flip cameras were coming out, I thought they were pretty amazing. It provided solid HD video in your pocket during the time where video on your phone was less than stellar. Once our smartphones started getting HD video recording capabilities, there wasn't a need to carry around a Flip camera anymore.
I remember when Cisco first acquired Flip, I was questioning whether it was a good move since it video on phones were getting better and better and to top it off, they were picked up for $590 million -- ouch. I really wonder what Cisco had in mind when they first bought them since it doesn't exactly fit into their product strengths.
Reuters: www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-cisco-idUSTR...
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RIP Flip: Cisco killing Flip line of camcorders
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I think they didn't understand why people like flip camcorders. I've used one for a long time and the reasons I love it are that it requires no cable, no software on a cd or download, and it records when I see something instantly vs. tapping a bunch of commands on a phone. To this day, the videos on my phone stay on my phone, where as my Flip video usually makes it to somewhere useful. Here are things they should have done:
1) get the price down to under $100, so it becomes a nice almost disposable vacation camera.
2) or rugged-ize it for action sports.
3) the usb interface built in was genius, why not take it all the way and build in a tripod?
4) give it high speed recording ability, i know a lot of athletes (dancers, skaters, etc) that own Flip cameras who would love to have this ability.
5) give it the ability to use interchangeable lenses, nothing dslr fancy but maybe a fish eye lense for athletes (once again dancers, skaters, etc would kill for this ability)
6) better low light performance, differentiate from smart phone cameras.
I for one will miss Flip simplicity but not the Flip prices.
1) get the price down to under $100, so it becomes a nice almost disposable vacation camera.
2) or rugged-ize it for action sports.
3) the usb interface built in was genius, why not take it all the way and build in a tripod?
4) give it high speed recording ability, i know a lot of athletes (dancers, skaters, etc) that own Flip cameras who would love to have this ability.
5) give it the ability to use interchangeable lenses, nothing dslr fancy but maybe a fish eye lense for athletes (once again dancers, skaters, etc would kill for this ability)
6) better low light performance, differentiate from smart phone cameras.
I for one will miss Flip simplicity but not the Flip prices.
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Considering how many people I still see with Flip camcorders, and how many people I know who just got one, I don't think the market for an easy, dedicated camcorder is quite dead, especially among non-tech people/non-gadgetphiles. I saw several yesterday, in fact.
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I think it's pretty clear Flip didn't necessarily have an infinitely long future as great HD video recording has made its way to cellphones, but I also don't necessarily think they needed to destroy so much value so deftly.
The brand wasn't sunk, and they still had at LEAST a few years before the hammer fully dropped on the space. As video recording becomes increasingly ubiquitous and commoditized, I think it's totally possible Flip might have had an amazing opportunity as in the software space (think: Instagram for video).
Then again, I never did understand why Cisco bought Flip in the first place, so I can't pretend I'm surprised they're killing it off.
The brand wasn't sunk, and they still had at LEAST a few years before the hammer fully dropped on the space. As video recording becomes increasingly ubiquitous and commoditized, I think it's totally possible Flip might have had an amazing opportunity as in the software space (think: Instagram for video).
Then again, I never did understand why Cisco bought Flip in the first place, so I can't pretend I'm surprised they're killing it off.
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As you have stated, it was a good idea back when they were popular but as converged devices become more and more ubiquitous, there isn't really much of a point to carry around the extra pocket camcorder. Especially since nowadays our smartphones are able to capture 720p (soon 1080p) video without much difficulty.
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They didn't differentiate it enough when smartphones showed up carrying "HD" video. A better approach would have been to find a niche like GoPro but I think Cisco always saw this as a mass market consumer device.
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