Cisco to Acquire Moto? No, not that Moto.

My first thought when I saw the headline in my email was that Cisco was trying to pick up the STB business from Motorola.I was relieved when I saw that the Moto the article was referring to was Moto Development, the company that helped design the Flip video camera.In this case, I think acquiring Moto is a great move for Cisco in its continued strategy pursuing consumer devices.

The Flip video camera is a standout product, and having used one I believe the design and user experience is excellent.I have owned video cameras in the past, and my current cell phone also shoots video, but the Flip is my go-to device for capturing important moments.I have an eleven month old nephew, and the Flip has been there to see him crawl for the first time, and last night when he took his first steps.That is the kind of product that consumers embrace and make a part of their everyday life.

Cisco has been doing a much better job with consumer-targeted products after the acquisition of the Pure Digital (Flip) team.Of course, the original Flip product was released prior to the Cisco acquisition, but the company allowed that team to stay on track with the second generation device and brought them in to work on the new Valet line of routers.If you’ve seen my review of that product, you know that I think they have made tremendous steps in improving home networking.

Cisco’s first attempt at networked home audio didn’t go so well, and a lot of that had to do with the design and user experience.We’ve also already seen Cisco talking about consumer TelePresence, and that is going to take an exceptional user experience to separate Cisco’s product from competitors like Skype and now Google TV.By bringing in a talented and creative group of individuals from the Moto Development team, I believe Cisco will be well positioned to tackle additional consumer related devices and categories.