EmporiaCLICK hands-on at CES 2012 (video)
It may not turn the heads of anyone who needs the latest and greatest phone — let alone most smartphone users — but Emporia Telecom’s not going after that market. Rather, the handset manufacturer is busy pushing out devices that appeal to the first-time phone buyer or anyone who doesn’t need anything besides a simple phone that actually makes calls and sends messages. The EmporiaCLICK, which should be available this Spring for under $100 without contract, is the absolute epitome of the basic clamshell cameraphone, complete with large buttons, fingerprint-friendly exterior and a built-in one-click emergency button which will cycle through a list of five emergency numbers until somebody answers.
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EmporiaCLICK hands-on at CES 2012 (video)
Cisco phasing out FlipShare: 30 days to save your videos
Many Flip fans are already sporting black arm bands with little red spots in honor of the dying brand, and the New York Times reports there’s more bad news coming. Starting May 12th, all videos uploaded to FlipShare will expire 30 days after they’ve been posted. This applies to videos you’ve already uploaded as well — so you’ve got till June 11th to follow the lead of Google Video users and back up your collection of clips before they disappear into the digital ether. The FlipShare service will continue to live on for another two and a half years, if you don’t mind the one month limit, but clearly Cisco wants users to move on with their video-sharing lives. Check out the more coverage link for instructions on how to export your videos, and let’s have one more moment of silence for the tiny camcorder that could… at least until it couldn’t.
Cisco phasing out FlipShare: 30 days to save your videos originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 03:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sony Bloggie 3D now available for aspiring James Camerons everywhere
Sure, we’ll never see dreams of a 3D Cisco Flip realized, but Sony’s offering the next best thing: the Bloggie 3D. The latest addition to the company’s line of pocket camcorders was quietly made available this week for $249.99 a pop — $80 more than the recently released Bloggie Duo HD, because extra dimensions ain’t cheap. The camera takes a cue from Nintendo’s latest portable, with a 2.4 inch 3D display that eschews the need for glasses. Or, if you’re not in the mood to squint and don’t mind the eyewear, you can output the video to a 3D-enabled HDTV.
Sony Bloggie 3D now available for aspiring James Camerons everywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Switched On: A legacy from the Flip side
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Last week’s Switched On discussed some of the challenges the Flip camcorder faced trying to grow in the marketplace, an effort abruptly scuttled by an indifferent Cisco. But while Kodak, Sony and others are now poised to fill the Flip void, no competitor exactly matched Flip’s combination of simplicity and sharing. With point and shoot cameras, camcorders, traditional MP3 players and standalone GPS units in decline, the jury remains out on how long portable electronics can fight the smartphone, but Flip’s success taught the industry some valuable lessons that may have relevance going forward.
Continue reading Switched On: A legacy from the Flip side
Switched On: A legacy from the Flip side originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Apr 2011 20:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Toshiba’s waterproof Camileo BW10 does 1080p video, 5 megapixel stills for $150
Flip might have died an untimely death, but spring is here, the birds are chirping, and the march of vacation-ready pocket cams continues — Toshiba just announced the Camileo BW10, whose rubberized coating makes it usable in water as deep as 6.5 feet. At $150, it’s a smidge cheaper than other rugged 1080p camcorders, but then again, you’ll pay a premium for models you can use in deeper water. In addition to video, it snaps 5 megapixel photos and has an SD card slot, USB port, and HDMI output, though Toshiba regrettably doesn’t bundle an HDMI cable. Not a deal-breaker? You can nab one in yellow or silver on Toshiba’s site today with an instant $20 rebate.
Continue reading Toshiba’s waterproof Camileo BW10 does 1080p video, 5 megapixel stills for $150
Toshiba’s waterproof Camileo BW10 does 1080p video, 5 megapixel stills for $150 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Switched On: Flip-flops
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
This week’s announcement that Cisco is shuttering its Flip Video business was but the latest twist in the history of the market share-leading device. The Flip got its start after its creator, Pure Digital, modified its original disposable camcorder to be reusable after hackers showed it could be done. And its success continued to defy convention that the product would resonate against a slew of digital cameras and increasingly competent smartphones that could shoot competitive — and even high definition — video.
The Flip also soared above the market share of companies with far stronger brands such as Sony and Kodak, although the latter made gains on a string of hits, including the 1080p-shooting Zi8 and waterproof PlaySport. It even fought back an initial foray from Apple’s iPod nano and was still holding its own after the debut of the latest iPod touch, which took the HD video capture feature from the iPhone and made it available without a contract. Yes, the Flip hung tough. That’s why its cancellation says volumes about Cisco, the company that acquired it for some $590 million in stock.
Cisco needed to show growth with a consumer product line that could not be easily augmented with acquisitions and that derived little connection with the mother brand — even less than Linksys, the company’s networking line. Cisco certainly tried. But the Flip group made a few false moves that stuck out like a pop-out USB connector, and with little of that spring-loaded joy.
Continue reading Switched On: Flip-flops
Switched On: Flip-flops originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 20:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Cisco’s axing of Flip had an additional casualty: the unnannounced FlipLive streaming camera
So Flip Video’s last offering wasn’t terribly amazing, but we had faith that the USB pocket camcorder would get back to its simplistic roots — you know, until Cisco axed the whole division, along with 550 souls. Well, the truth is that the company was indeed working on something rather cool, and though we’d only heard whispers until now, the New York Times‘ David Pogue says the day after Cisco brought down the guillotine is when the FlipLive was due to hit shelves. It would have been a livestreaming camera, connected with WiFi to the cloud, allowing users to share johnny-on-the-spot videos with the entire world in real time. Instead, the camera and its little red button are off to that great big server in the sky.
Cisco’s axing of Flip had an additional casualty: the unnannounced FlipLive streaming camera originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Cisco’s axing of Flip had an additional casualty: the unnannounced FlipLive streaming camera
So Flip Video’s last offering wasn’t terribly amazing, but we had faith that the USB pocket camcorder would get back to its simplistic roots — you know, until Cisco axed the whole division, along with 550 souls. Well, the truth is that the company was indeed working on something rather cool, and though we’d only heard whispers until now, the New York Times‘ David Pogue says the day after Cisco brought down the guillotine is when the FlipLive was due to hit shelves. It would have been a livestreaming camera, connected with WiFi to the cloud, allowing users to share johnny-on-the-spot videos with the entire world in real time. Instead, the camera and its little red button are off to that great big server in the sky.
Cisco’s axing of Flip had an additional casualty: the unnannounced FlipLive streaming camera originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Cisco killing Flip line of camcorders, axing 550 employees in restructuring effort
Oh Flip, how far you’ve come. And, of course, how far you’ve fallen. Once a spunky upstart with oddly shaped camcorders, you got snapped up by Cisco in Spring of 2009 for a hefty $590 million in stock. Now, according to Pocket-lint, you (and your moustaches) are done for. Cisco CEO John Chambers says the brand is being dispatched as the company refocuses, done in by the proliferation of high-definition sensors into smartphones and PMPs and the like. We had been waiting for the company’s next products (if you’ll recall, a WiFi-enabled Mino HD hit the FCC just a few months back), but at this point, it looks like those hopes and dreams will remain unfulfilled. We’re awaiting comment from the company, and will update as it flies in.
Update: Looks like the “exit of some consumer operations” will lead to 550 employees being left out of work. If you’ll recall, the outfit reported in February that sales of consumer products sank 15 percent, while profits slipped 18 percent as margins slid for a fourth consecutive quarter. Meanwhile, Umi will be integrated into the company’s TelePresence product line and operate through an enterprise and service provider go-to-market model. In other words, Skype just ate Umi’s lunch.
Continue reading Cisco killing Flip line of camcorders, axing 550 employees in restructuring effort
Cisco killing Flip line of camcorders, axing 550 employees in restructuring effort originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Toshiba intros Camileo P100 and B10 pocket camcorders, strays from tried-and-true pistol grip
The seasons come and go, but Toshiba‘s line of Camileo pocket camcorders tend to look the same, with their pistol grips and flip-out screens. But now, Tosh is getting ready to ship two new models in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and one of them, at least, takes the company’s design in a different direction. The B10 camcorder has a candy bar shape with a front-facing lens — much like the Flip camcorders that kicked off the pocket cam craze in the first place. The B10 shoots at Full HD resolution, snaps 16 megapixel stills, has 16X digital zoom, and takes SDXC cards as large as 64GB. Prefer the ole’ pistol grip? The P100 boasts the same specs and adds 8X optical zoom — still a rarity in inexpensive pocket cams. Toshiba hasn’t announced pricing yet, though the two will go on sale sometime in the second quarter. In the meantime, check out the press release for more deets.
Toshiba intros Camileo P100 and B10 pocket camcorders, strays from tried-and-true pistol grip originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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