Cisco -- Engadget

cisco posts

Cisco FlipShareTV streamer outed in FCC documents

by Ross Miller posted Oct 30th 2009 at 12:33AM

Flip Video remote, meet your family. One of Cisco's latest FCC filings happened to keep its user manual outside the seal of confidentiality, giving us a pretty good look at FlipShareTV, a setup for streaming recorded video from the computer's FlipShare software, out the USB dongle transmitted wirelessly to the receiver connected to the TV... and that's about it. Nothing too thrilling here, and there's no indication of price or release date. More pictures below -- any Flip enthusiasts actually excited by this?

Gallery: Cisco FlipShareTV

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

Flip MinoHD goes premium, we go hands-on

by Nilay Patel posted Oct 14th 2009 at 12:01AM

Flip Video just launched a new "premium" take on the MinoHD -- it's fundamentally the same as the existing MinoHD, but with 8GB of storage, a bigger two-inch screen and an HDMI port, all wrapped up in either a sleek aluminum shell or a personalized design from the Flip website. The 8GB of flash means the MinoHD can now record up to two hours of 720p video, and while there's still no image stabilizer, it's not like that's stopped anyone from loving the MinoHD before. There's also a new version of the FlipShare software, which features an automatic Magic Movie mode that'll trim and edit before shooting your video to Facebook, YouTube and MySpace. We're sure the kids will love it, but we'd rather do things the old-fashioned way. The new premium model will sell for $229, while the original MinoHD remains on sale for $199 and the old-school Mino hangs back at $149. After some time playing around with one, we'd say you're well-justified in dropping the extra $30 here -- the newer case and screen are quite nice, and HDMI-out is nothing to sneeze at. It's still the same MinoHD as far as image quality goes, however, so don't walk into this one expecting any surprises -- and no fancy al-yoo-min-ium case will quell the need for a proper stabilizer in these things. Video after the break!

Gallery: Flip MinoHD goes premium, we go hands-on

Gallery: New Flip MinoHD press shots

Continue reading Flip MinoHD goes premium, we go hands-on

Flip Video remote control shows up at FCC -- bigger things to come?

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 5:52AM

A brand spanking new filing with the FCC shows a Flip Video-branded RF remote control, produced by Foxconn, which frankly raises more questions than it answers. Looking at its robust size, which is comparable to that of the Flip Ultra Video HD, we can be pretty sure this isn't meant to remotely control anything that's out at the moment. Head honcho Jonathan Kaplan has already expressed a definite interest in expanding the brand, and Cisco's acquisition of Pure Digital was said to be "key" to its strategy of expanding its presence in the "media-enabled home." So, given the parent company's somewhat unsuccessful history of building media hubs, and the simplified control scheme that just screams for an on-screen menu, this may well be the prelude to a new Flip-branded whole-home DVR setup, an idea that Cisco discussed over the summer. Or it could be something entirely different -- we just know it's something.

Gallery: Flip Video remote control

AT&T's 3G MicroCell tested and reviewed by Charlottean: yes, it works

by Darren Murph posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 12:08PM

For those who missed the torrent of 3G MicroCell news yesterday, here's the long and short of it: the Cisco-built device is now on sale, but only in Charlotte, North Carolina. One fortunate Charlottean managed to scoop one up, but rather than keeping the experience to himself, he decided to bang out a full review for the rest of the world to see. By and large, Jason's experience with the femtocell mirrored our own with Sprint's AIRAVE. Installation and setup was a breeze, and once it was booted up and operational, it worked like a charm. Before picking this up, he was seeing one bar of EDGE (if he was lucky); afterwards, his entire house was blanketed with five bars of 3G. Not surprisingly, he noted that the before and after difference when fielding calls was "night and day," but he did take the opportunity to bark at the lofty $150 price tag. But hey, those desperate enough will cough up anything to actually use their phone, right?

AT&T launching 3G Microcell in some markets in the next few days?

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 18th 2009 at 12:05PM

Zacks Investment Research is reporting in a matter-of-fact tone that AT&T's long-rumored, long-desired 3G Microcell femtocell will be hitting some markets "in the next week." The full list of initial launch areas hasn't been disclosed, but Atlanta, San Antonio, Seattle and North Carolina are all specifically mentioned; as you might recall, Sprint restricted the launch of its Airave for some time, too, so limited availability out of the gate wouldn't really come as a surprise. AT&T had no comment when asked about the report, so it's a wait-and-see game -- but if you're clinging to one bar of service, have hope that help is on the way.

DirecTV, Cisco and Samsung have whole house DVR plans with RVU alliance

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Aug 19th 2009 at 12:49PM

One of our dreams is to have a true whole home DVR that allows us to watch any show we want, on any TV we want; but so far the perfect solution has eluded us. TiVo was really the first to try with its Multi-Room Viewing, but missed the mark by not giving us a single Now Playing list for the whole house or even any automatic conflict resolution between units. The FiOS HD DVR was the next disappointment because it limits us to two tuners and 160GB for the whole house -- seriously is that enough for anyone? Currently Windows Media Center offers the best solution, but it's expensive after you pay $300 a pop for a CableCARD tuner, not to mention it requires more maintenance because it is based on a PC. Needless to say we continue to look for the perfect solution, and we think that the RVU (R-vue) alliance might be just what we ordered. In addition to DirecTV, Cisco and Samsung, the chip maker Broadcom is also one of the founding members of the alliance, but it is their goals that get us excited. So excited, that we'd actually be shocked if they were actually achieved, but you'll have to click through to learn why.

Linksys announces WRT160NL Linux-powered media sharing router

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jun 23rd 2009 at 1:27PM

Do you have some media to share with yourself (or with those in close vicinity)? The Linksys Wireless N Storage Router is a sleek and sexy refresh of the tried and true Wireless G, throwing in external R-SMA antenna connectors, USB connectivity (for your fave external drive) and an integrated media server. This bad boy can stream to PCs or UPnP AV digital media adapters, and it supports FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS file systems in both read and write mode. Available now for $109.99.

Cisco signs on to provide infrastructure, build Linksys WiMAX routers for Clearwire

by Darren Murph posted May 14th 2009 at 8:41AM

Clearwire may not be as ubiquitous as you'd like it to be, but it's taking a huge step forward in hopes of wildly expanding by linking up with Cisco. In essence, the two have joined hands in order to "enhance and expand CLEAR 4G mobile WiMAX services throughout the United States," with Cisco providing the core infrastructure and Clearwire providing the guidance. Potentially more interesting is the notion that Cisco's Linksys brand will soon be delivering "new mobile WiMAX devices," such as routers that will presumably tune to WiFi and WiMAX waves. Specific product details are sorely absent, though Clearwire does reiterate that it's hoping to have WiMAX service to more than 80 markets across the US by the end of next year.

Pure Digital founder talks of Flip Video's future

by Darren Murph posted Apr 7th 2009 at 5:27AM

When we got wind of Cisco's $590 million acquisition of Flip Video-maker Pure Digital, we immediately came to grips with the fit. After all, Cisco's been dying to pull another Linksys for some time now, and what better to expand its consumer electronics presence than with a cheap-o camcorder that's ripe for the addition of WiFi. Bigwig (and Pure Digital founder) Jonathan Kaplan recently sat down to talk about the product's future, and unsurprisingly, he definitely mentions the integration of Cisco's "strengths" into the handheld camcorder. Furthermore, he's hoping that an entity as large as Cisco can get the Flip Video line overseas, and he's also quite big on "building the brand." The takeaway? Don't be alarmed when a WiFi-equipped, streaming-capable successor hits the scene at CES 2010, complete with automatic upload-to-YouTube functionality.

Cisco Media Hub reviewed, punched like a baby

by Thomas Ricker posted Mar 26th 2009 at 12:20PM

Cisco's been trying to make themselves comfortable in our living rooms over the last few years with variable success. For Cisco, the more audio, home spun video, TV, and just plain data they can entice you to push around your house, and The Net in general, translates to warm willowy cash riding an OSPF packet direct into Cisco's pocket. Now we've got a review from HotHardware of Cisco's latest, the Linksys Media Hub Network Attached Storage device. Unfortunately for Cisco, the review politely ripped the Media Hub to shreds. It's most compelling feature -- the intuitive, built-in, Internet accessible Media Browser -- would "lose" media and "frequently" degrade performance during database rebuilds that kicked off throughout the day. Issues that could be solved via firmware update -- someday... probably. The price is also set too high compared to other NAS devices in the same capacity range. For about the same dough, you can get the Business Edition of the 2TB Maxtor Central Axis NAS preferred by HH. Fortunately for you, you've seen the review prior to handing Cisco your $350. You did wait for the review, right?

Cisco acquiring Flip Video-maker Pure Digital for $590 million in stock

by Darren Murph posted Mar 19th 2009 at 8:59AM

Funny -- that patently absurd half a billion figure we heard tossed about earlier this month was low. In reality, Cisco has just announced its full intentions to acquire all of Pure Digital, the maker of the immensely popular Flip Video camcorder, for around $590 million in stock. According to Ned Hooper, senior vice president of Cisco's Corporate Development and Consumer Groups, the "acquisition of Pure Digital is key to Cisco's strategy to expand our momentum in the media-enabled home and to capture the consumer market transition to visual networking." To an outsider, the move may seem somewhat odd; after all, what's Cisco doing spending this much on a consumer product? Let's just say that uploading HD video requires loads of bandwidth, and Cisco's all about that. Expect the deal to close in Cisco's fiscal fourth quarter of 2009.

Cisco said to be buying Pure Digital for around $500 million

by Darren Murph posted Mar 9th 2009 at 12:39AM

Believe us people, popularity pays off. Just ask Pure Digital CEO Jonathan Kaplan, who is reportedly scrambling for ways to spend $80 million of the $500 million Cisco Systems is about to hand over in order to acquire the company. Granted, none of this has been confirmed just yet, but TechCrunch has it that the deal is all but done. Reportedly, Cisco's interested in bringing the firm into its portfolio in order to further push high-bandwidth using services. Obviously, user generated HD video fits pretty perfectly into that agenda. We suspect we'll be hearing more on the subject as the work week begins in earnest, but it sure sounds like Linksys is about to get a new cousin.

Linksys Wireless Home Audio and Media Hub NAS hands-on

by Paul Miller posted Jan 7th 2009 at 6:15PM

We just snuck a quick look at the new Linksys home media gear, the Wireless Home Audio system and Media Hub NAS, and it's pretty much what you'd expect. For all of Cisco's talk of platform and back-end and consumer love, the end product is actually pretty humdrum. We can't speak to the actual setup and content integration -- which will naturally be Cisco's strong suit -- but the actual hardware doesn't seem to scream consumer love. The interface on the Touchscreen Remote is pretty slow and a far cry from the polish of the Sonos system -- the unit's natural competitor -- especially compared to the iPod touch control App, and everything looks and feels bulky and gray. We do have to hand it to Cisco for working in the iPod dock, a CD player, iTunes server and Rhapsody all into one cohesive centrally-controlled system, but we'll see how much traction this gathers in the market... Cisco's talking like a uniter, but right now this just looks like more fragmentation.

Gallery: Linksys Wireless Home Audio and Media Hub NAS hands-on

Live from the Cisco CES press conference

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jan 7th 2009 at 3:56PM

12:56PM PT We're here, and there's some seriously smooth jams playing. We don't mind telling you that this is the smoothest press event we've been to, hands down. Someone call a doctor, we're having a relax attack.

Continue reading Live from the Cisco CES press conference

Linksys announces Media Hub NAS

by Nilay Patel posted Jan 7th 2009 at 2:01AM

We knew Cisco would be throwing down in the home media space, and it's coming out in force, supplementing that sexy Wireless Home Audio system with the web-enabled Media Hub NAS. Both the $400 500GB NMH405 and $430 NMH410 (1TB) feature a front-panel LCD and card reader, while the $350 NMH305 (500GB) does away with such frills. All three models come with a single drive, but can be expanded with a second unit later. The web interface actually looks super-slick, with file system and media playback functionality available to any web browser. Of course, you can also stream to any UPnP AV / DLNA device, and there's also iTunes streaming if you roll like that. Not a bad little package, if you're in the market -- we'll see how that interface runs in person later this week.