Cisco aims to launch Flip camcorders in India

Cisco is planning to launch its groundbreaking FlipShare video technology in India by the end of this year. The company is in the process of exploring the Indian market for its leading product in the US markets. The company is considering an introductory price of Rs 8000-10,000 for launching the product in India.

Flip Video camcorders put the power of video into consumers' pockets by enabling them to instantly capture and share their personal videos anywhere, at any time. "We are looking at launching Flip video camcorders in Asia Pacific and Indian market by the end of this year. We are in the process of surveying the Indian market for video technology and may take a few decisions soon. However, no firm decisions have been taken yet," said Craig Gledhill, vice president, Asia Pacific, Cisco Consumer Products, on the sidelines of the launch of the Cisco's four new products in Ahmedabad.

The company today launched models of Wireless-N Home Router, Wireless-N Broadband Router with Storage Link, Wireless-N Home ADSL2+ Modem Router and Wireless-N Access Point with Dual-Band in Ahmedabad under Linksys. Linksys Cisco Exchange Center is located in eight cities to provide product exchange services to its customers throughout India.

With the boom in social media, Cisco is expecting a good response from the Indian market for its camcorders. "We are considering an entry level price of Rs 8000-10,000 for the Indian market. We are doing business in over 250 cities in India and are seeing a double digit growth in India. Till last year, we had a client base of 95 per cent from the Tier I cities whereas now we see a client base of a 75-25 per cent ratio from Tier I and II cities respectively," Suresh Balasubramanian, national sales director, India, Cisco Consumer Products said.

The pocket-sized HD camcorder featuring one-touch recording and digital zoom has a USB arm, which plugs directly into the PC or Mac to launch FlipShare software. The built-in FlipShare software lets you email videos, edit individual clips, make custom movies and even upload video to sharing sites like YouTube, MySpace and to social networking sites.

The company has over 1800 business partners in India. Gujarat contributes to 8 per cent of the market share of the company, which is expected to grow to 10-12 per cent this year. "Gujarat ranks top in per centage outside metro cities in terms of growth. We also see potential to double partners in Gujarat this year," Balasubramanian said.