Hasta La Gadget!

With pocket HD camcorders multiplying by the dozens (most with 1080p functionality), we were starting to think Flip, er Cisco had fallen asleep at the wheel (or the Slide!), but the category pioneer has finally gone and updated its core Flip MinoHD and UltraHD lines with some much-needed features. Starting on the lower end, the 4GB Flip UltraHD is now just $149 –it’ll capture one hour of 720p video at 30fps. That’s a great price, but it’s certainly the least interesting of the bunch — the more notable additions are baked into the $199.99 8GB UltraHD, which is 20 percent slimmer with a new rubber casing and finally (finally!) gained image stabilization. Flip’s still not playing the raw specs game, though — the 8GB Ultra shoots 720p/60 video, which Cisco says maximizes video quality while keeping file sizes easier to share. Sure — we don’t think a 1080p/30 mode would have overly complicated things, but Flip’s all about one-button simplicity, after all.

The 8GB Ultra also sports a new FlipPort expansion port, which is the centerpiece of the “Designed for Flip” accessory program. All kinds of things can plug into the FlipPort; highlights of the launch lineup include a Scoshe wireless microphone, an iGo pico projector, and a SeaGate portable hard drive / storage extender. Cisco tells us the FlipPort will hit the other Flip models over time, and that it’s expecting tons of Designed for Flip accessories — beyond those for the new FlipPort, there will be a Bower magnetic wide angle lens and loads of new cases. It’s an interesting sort of complexity to offer on a camera otherwise almost aggressive in its simplicity.

The MinoHD line also nabs the new image stabilizer and 720p/60 video mode — the new silver 4GB MinoHD will retail for $179.99, while the matte black 8GB MinoHD will run $229.99. All the new models can be ordered on Flip’s website today, and if personalization if your thing, each can be customized with different designs or an uploaded picture of your own. We can’t say there’s a lack of new stuff, and while we’re still a bit confused by the absence of 1080p recording and a still shot mode, there’s something to be said for the company’s studious focus on simplicity. Whether 720p/60 video can hold up to the competition’s 1080p is still a giant question mark, but we just got our review models and we’ll let you know how things go later this week. Until then, enjoy some of the beauty shots below as well as the full press release after the break.

Continue reading Flip updates UltraHD and MinoHD, rolls out new Designed for Flip accessories

Flip updates UltraHD and MinoHD, rolls out new Designed for Flip accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A rambling Computerworld report from Cisco’s Live! event is bringing us news of even more goodies, beyond the business and home tablets already revealed. In an interview with Marthin De Beer, Senior VP of Cisco’s Emerging Technologies Group, De Beer strongly hints at a WiFi enabled Flip Video camera by the end of 2010. While he didn’t say it in so many words, he did say, “We didn’t buy Flip to have it be only a video recorder,” adding, “I look forward to Christmas,” when asked about a possible timeline. That seems clear enough.

The conversation then gets muddied when De Beer begins discussing video as a “pervasive play” for Cisco, something that will “ultimately span across everything we do.” And in a bid to interoperate with all devices, including Apple’s new handset and certainly future iOS devices, De Beer said, “We would absolutely love to integrate with FaceTime.” When, is the question left unanswered. Until then Cisco plans to introduce a mobile Movi iPhone app to the App Store that ties back into Cisco’s Tandberg SIP-based video conferencing solution. Now, maybe it’s a stretch, but with Cisco slowly creeping into the consumer space, it’s hard not to take away a sense that it will be introducing software and devices interoperable with its Silicon Valley neighbor’s FaceTime solution in the not too distant future. Hit the source to read the interview in full.

Cisco suggests WiFi Flip Video camera by Christmas, wants to integrate products with Apple’s FaceTime originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cisco announced this afternoon that in 2011 it will be launching an Android-based tablet, named the Cius, aimed squarely at the business market.

Cisco has always been an enterprise-focused company, and the Cius is its shot at bringing businesses on board the tablet bandwagon. Video conferencing, the product which Cisco is perhaps best known for, is front and center both literally and figuratively – there’s a 720p-capable cameras on the front of the Cius, in addition to the 5 megapixel camera on the back.

In an effort to get the Cius into briefcases and suitcases all over the world, the 7-inch device weighs only 1.15 pounds. The Cius will ship with 3G capability, WiFi, eight-hour battery life, HD audio and video out, and tight integration with all of Cisco’s other business applications as well as the huge Android market.

There’s no word yet on what the device will cost, but it promises to make Android a little more business-friendly and to make getting things done on the road a little easier . Even if it won’t have all the great entertainment of the iPad, maybe that’s a good thing for business users.

(Photo: Courtesy Cisco)

Cisco‘s just announced a business-aimed Android tablet, and it’s calling it the Cius. The tablet will offer HD video streaming, real-time video, multi-party conferencing, plus all the regular tablet functions like messaging, email, and browsing. We’re not sure about the size of the device yet, or any of it technical specs, but we do know that it’s going to weigh in at 1.15lbs, so it can’t be terrifically large. There’s also no word yet on pricing yet, but expect to see the device the first quarter of 2011; we’ll let you know about the former as soon as we do, okay, businessmen? Full press release is below.

Update: And now we’ve got video showing off the Cius under the drone of a limp corporate voiceover and synthesized soundtrack. How can you resist clicking through to the embed?

Continue reading Cisco unveils Cius Android tablet with HD video capabilities (update: video!)

Cisco unveils Cius Android tablet with HD video capabilities (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cox is ready to make a major leap forward in its user interface — goodbye SARA and Passport, we won’t miss you — with the newly developed “Plus Package” rolling out in limited areas during Q2 and throughout its service area by the end of the year. For the hardware Cox is bringing a Whole Home DVR solution to bear based on a Cisco 8642 HD/DVR with 500GB (3x more than the sizes currently offered) of storage, and MoCA-connected 1642 HD receivers, which are also necessary to tune to the new HD channels on the way delivered over Switched Digital Video (SDV) in the 860-MHz band.

The star of the show however is the new “Trio” program guide (video embedded after the break), a 16:9 interface that spaces out program info over three panes — channels on the left, programs in the middle, details on the right. TV programs can also be sorted grid-style, by themes, HD-only or favorite channels, while VOD lists titles, box art and detailed info in the three window style. There’s personalization for up to eight members of a household, as well as TiVo-style suggestions and related programming searches based on metadata. An exec told Multichannel News the new tru2way-built software started by realizing that “our guides were, in fact, broken” and this all-new approach is a step towards fixing that. Besides the TiVos and Moxis of the world, other service providers with similar setups include DirecTV, FiOS, Dish Network and U-verse and while we’d definitely like to see that middle pane expanded a bit to show more of each title, Cox could be the first cable company offering a set-top box that actually competes with any of them.

Continue reading Cox ‘Plus Package’ brings advanced Trio UI, 500GB multiroom DVR and more HD channels

Cox ‘Plus Package’ brings advanced Trio UI, 500GB multiroom DVR and more HD channels originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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