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Cisco Kills Umi Videoconferencing System
First the Flip video camera, and now the Umi consumer telepresence system. Is Cisco done with consumer electronics?
Cisco partner Verizon demonstrates Umi in the press room at CES 2011—begrudgingly, it seemed.
Cisco’s great hope for consumer electronics post-Linksys -- the Umi personal videoconferencing system – is dead.
No surprise there. The system was universally praised as “nice” when it was introduced in October 2010, but generally panned as overpriced.
Umi was touted as the only high-definition consumer-oriented telepresence system at the time. But do consumers even want to be seen in their PJs at 1080p?
What’s more, for HD to work, both parties needed a $599 Umi box and the bandwidth to go with it. Worse, monthly fees of $10 - $25 were required – and this when Skpe was (wait for it) free.
Verizon, Cisco’s partner in the deal, demonstrated Umi last year in the CES press room. In discussions with the Verizon folks there, even they couldn’t figure out why a monthly fee was required, and who would want to pay it.
Reminding us of Cisco’s quick abandonment of the Flip video camera, Business Insider suggests:
The last big consumer news we heard from Cisco was back in February 2011, when networking giant led a $25 million round of funding for the home automation company Control4. Cisco planned to incorporate Control4 into its new Smart+Connected Communities (SCC), which would also include Umi videoconferencing systems, we reported last year.
Consumer videoconferencing was one of CE Pro’s Top 5 Home Technology Opportunities for 2011. We still believe in the cause -- just not Cisco’s implementation.
No surprise there. The system was universally praised as “nice” when it was introduced in October 2010, but generally panned as overpriced.
Umi was touted as the only high-definition consumer-oriented telepresence system at the time. But do consumers even want to be seen in their PJs at 1080p?
What’s more, for HD to work, both parties needed a $599 Umi box and the bandwidth to go with it. Worse, monthly fees of $10 - $25 were required – and this when Skpe was (wait for it) free.
Verizon, Cisco’s partner in the deal, demonstrated Umi last year in the CES press room. In discussions with the Verizon folks there, even they couldn’t figure out why a monthly fee was required, and who would want to pay it.
Reminding us of Cisco’s quick abandonment of the Flip video camera, Business Insider suggests:
Except for wireless routers known by the Linksys brand, (acquired in 2003 for $500 million), Cisco has pretty much stunk at building things consumers want. After its awful 2011, the company seems to be less distracted with consumer products and re-focused again on enterprises and service providers.
The last big consumer news we heard from Cisco was back in February 2011, when networking giant led a $25 million round of funding for the home automation company Control4. Cisco planned to incorporate Control4 into its new Smart+Connected Communities (SCC), which would also include Umi videoconferencing systems, we reported last year.
Consumer videoconferencing was one of CE Pro’s Top 5 Home Technology Opportunities for 2011. We still believe in the cause -- just not Cisco’s implementation.
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About the Author
Julie Jacobson, Editor-at-large, CE Pro
Julie Jacobson is co-founder of EH Publishing and currently spends most of her time writing for CE Pro, mostly in the areas of home automation, networked A/V and the business of home systems integration. She majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and has never taken a journalism class in her life. Julie is a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player with the scars to prove it. Follow her on Twitter @juliejacobson.
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