Farewell, Umi

With hardly any noise -- not to mention a press conference-- Cisco shuts off sales of the umi, its ill-fated stab at a consumer videoconferencing system.

Cisco umi failCall it sneaking away from another disaster from a once-infallible Cisco who thought it could easily crossover into consumer marketing, if you will.

Launched back in October 2010, the umi (pronounced You-Me) was a premium home conferencing kit offering 1080p video conferencing (720 for recording) at $599-- and an additional $10 monthly service fee. The package included a camera, controller and STB... and customers had to include their own HDTVs and internet connections.

Existing users will still be able to use the service to chat with either umi subscribers or Google video chat accounts.

Is Cisco giving up on home telepresence (while using the Linksys brand to target home users) or simply waiting until the time is right? Either way, we're sure Cisco will continue chasing the online video market.

Go Cisco umi