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Bring back the Flip

April 13th, 2011 by Graham Attwell

It is not often I write about hardware. There are quite enough web sites for that already. But, I am greatly saddened to read of the demise of the Flip camera. I have three of these excellent cameras and regularly use them in workshops and events. They are lightweight and robust. But most importantly they are extremely easy to use. I can teach someone who has never used a video camera before how to use a Flip and download the content in about 3 minutes. And that frees them up to think about the content and pedagogy, rather than worrying about their technical proficiency.

So why has Cisco decided to stop manufacturing the Flip. It is profitable, albeit with a falling volume of sales. The answer it seems is that with the rising use of mobile phones for filming and uploading video content, Cisco do not see a long term future for the Flip.

Last week I wrote in the editorial how I saw no future for dedicated educati0nal technology. But perhaps I was wrong. Even if mobiles do have advanced video capacity, for teaching and learning they are no competitors to the Flip. Biut it seems the educational market is too small and insignificant for manufacturers such as Cisco.

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One Response to “Bring back the Flip”

  1. Lesley says:

    Hi Graham, You might be heartened to know that there are other similar mini video cameras on the market. I’ve used the Flip and Creative’s Vado, and find them almost identical, certainly the Vado is as simple to use. Kodak & Sony also have similar products, and I think they are all currently still available.

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