Cisco snaps up consumer design firm

That old plumber of the Internet, Cisco, has been making some odd acquisitions over the past couple of years, and the latest of those is the MOTO Development Group, a design firm which has helped produce the likes of Microsoft’s much admired Zune 2.0 and the LiveScribe Pulse.
Indeed, the press release describes MOTO as  “a design consulting firm that develops products and product strategies for the consumer industry.”
What could Cisco possibly want with a design house? one might well ask. On the other hand, one might well ask what on earth Cisco could possibly want with the handheld camcorder company Flip, which it also bought a couple of years back.
Cisco it seems, is eyeing up the consumer electronics market and likes what it’s seeing. And it doesn’t get more consumer electronic-y than smartphones and tablets, which is why MOTO’s experience with Android e-readers and other handheld mobile internet devices may signal that the routing giant is about to turn its hand to the world of mobile computing.
It would certainly make sense. After all, with Cisco’s incredible infrastructure and internet routing know-how, coupled with its already popular consumer brands – Linksys, Valet, and Flip – why not go for consumer gadget gold?
There were some analysts who even posited that it would have been a good idea for Cisco to snap up Palm a few weeks ago, before HP made its move, which would have given the firm a ready-made smartphone product and operating system to enter the market with.
Video conferencing is another segment Cisco is actively pursuing, and we wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if the networking giant managed to integrate its key talents into upcoming consumer products.
A wirelessly connected Flip cam? A Cisco tablet for web conferencing and VoIP? A partnership with Google for Android? A Cisco smartphone? None of the above would surprise us at this point.
Financial terms of the transaction are undisclosed.