People in the USA have been actively commenting and are very unhappy with Cisco. Not selling it to another company isn’t an option as of now – leaves all of the Flip owners up a creek (as the saying goes hers)…Cisco only cares about the almighty $$$, not Flip customers…..Sad day….now on to some other camcorder when mine dies….(hopefully not for a while)…..

Cisco are placing the blame on smartphones eroding the Flips’s marketshare, but when I was filming at a gig a couple of weeks ago, I saw plenty of teenagers using Flips and similar cameras to film the bands. And we all know how teenagers love to share photos, music AND video. They’re an obvious customer for cheap pocket camcorders like these.

Not only that, but Flips and similar are a great introduction to the various disciplines of filming. You can use one on situations where you wouldn’t dream of using a pro camera (I’ve dangled my Kodak Zi8 off the side of a boat. Wouldn’t like to do that with my Sony Z1) and they can actually turn in decent video as a 2nd or 3rd camera. I’ve often used one for those purposes when I’m filming a corporate or a wedding or something.

I’ve heard lots of complaints about Flip software, the mp4 format, the fact that the battery/front cover is easy to break, quick battery drain times, etc. It seems to me that Cisco would rather kill off the Flip than address various issues. They made a good start with adding HD and a mic jack, but I think they have some stiff competition from other manufacturers as well as from smartphones. Still, I am surprised, given the amount of online advertising I’ve seen for Flips.

Some people don’t want to spend a ton of money on a freaking cell phone with HD video. It’s main reason to shout down.. Why Flip Camera Discontinued by CISCO Official Statement:

http://tinyurl.com/Flip-Shut-Down-2011