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RIP Flip
If you have a Flip video camera, hang on to it, your device is about to be vintage. Cisco announced today that it will close its Flip video business, probably due to competition from smartphones. Since many smartphones now come with an HD video camera, the need for a separate video camera has been diminishing.
If you don’t have a smart phone yet and have been thinking of buying a Flip video camera, you’re too late..
Kindle
In Free Kindle in November?, The Wonder of Tech reported on a theory that Amazon Kindle’s eReader would be free by November based upon past price reductions for the device.
Well, it’s not free yet, but it’s getting closer. Amazon announced today that they are offering a version of the Kindle, one with ads, for $114, $25 off the price of $139 for the Wi-Fi only model without ads. The ads will only appear on the home screen and the screen saver and the user will be able to vote on the ads, so the ads can be better targeted to the user’s preferences.
The new model of Kindle will also have special offers for the user, such as an Amazon $20 gift card for $10 and deals on ebooks and audiobooks. Here is the link if you want to grab this deal: Kindle with advertisements.
Does this price reduction make you want to get a Kindle? Are you holding out for a free model, maybe in November? Let us know in the Comments section below!
iPad 3D
Are you loving 3D technology without glasses but can’t get a Nintendo 3DS because you just got an iPad? You may be in luck! Developers at EHCI Research Group have been busy trying to implement 3D technology similar to the Nintendo 3DS on the iPad. Check out this video showing 3D images on an iPad screen, visible without glasses:
The effects aren’t nearly as astounding as on the Nintendo 3DS, but it’s a start. Let’s hope this technology continues to be refined and is used in apps soon!
The Social Network
If you saw The Social Network earlier this year, you know that the film revolved around the lawsuit brought by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, claiming that he stole their idea for a social website and delayed the launch of their site. That case settled out of court when the parties entered into an agreement stating that the Winklevosses were to be paid a settlement valued at $65 million in exchange for dropping their lawsuit. However, the Winklevosses later decided that their settlement payment was insufficient based on inaccurate financial statements and tried to re-open the case.
A three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Winklevosses yesterday, stating that the settlement between the parties was valid. Chief Judge Alex Kozinski stated in the opinion, “The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace…At some point, litigation must come to an end. That point has now been reached.” The full ruling of the court can be found here.
Does that mean that there will be no sequel to The Social Network? Not necessarily, the Winklevosses have stated that they intend to appeal for their case to be heard by the full panel of Ninth Circuit judges. Stay tuned to The Wonder of Tech for future updates.
Do you think $65 million is enough for the Winklevosses? State your case in the Comments below!
I’m very sorry Cisco has decided to discontinue the Flip and more importantly terminate its 550 employees. It’s a great product.
Hi Ron, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You’re absolutely correct, the Flip video camera is a great piece of tech but the most important thing is that so many people will be losing their jobs. Job loss is always difficult, but in these economic times, it is especially challenging.
We have a Flip video camera in our family and loved using it until we got a cell phone with a video camera. Then we stopped using the Flip.
The Flip is the second best selling digital camcorder on Amazon so Cisco’s decision must not be based upon market share, rather what they see as the future of the market. Unfortunately, the growth of the smartphone market seems to mean the demise of the video camera market.
Its unfortunate that CISCO had to stop this line, it seems more like a management gaffe. Else how would you explain an acquisition that happened 2yrs back (Mar 2009) for $590million, CISCO painting the town red with Flip ads, and then all of a suddenly crumbling down to close the unit entirely!
I feel bad for the 550 employees! In a tough economy, this might challenge someone’s livelihood out there, and thats not good!
Welcome back to The Wonder of Tech, iRewardChart! You’re right, a two year turn around from paying a half billion dollars for a company to shuttering the business seems to result from a series of bad business decisions. I wish they would have sold the business to someone else or spun it off rather than shutting it down.