Pure

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Cisco's yearly earnings.

If you haven't noticed, Cisco Systems, whose products have been used to build the Internet for 20 years, has spent the past 6 years becoming a big player in the consumer electronics market.

While Cisco still generates the bulk of its nearly $40 billion in yearly revenue from selling routers and switches to large companies and Internet service providers, the company has also been pushing into new markets, such as consumer electronics, over the past several years.

Still, most consumers probably have no idea who Cisco is or what it does. Sure, they may have seen those cute "human network" commercials on TV. But other than that, I'd guess the average Joe has no clue what Cisco does.

Some might be familiar with the Linksys brand, which has traditionally sold home networking gear. But Cisco executives say they are on a mission to make Cisco a household name. Not only is the company making a bigger effort to brand its products as Cisco, but it's also busy developing a slew of new products for the consumer market.

And on Thursday the company announced its most aggressive play in the consumer market to date with the $590 million acquisition of Pure Digital Technologies, the maker of the popular Flip Video mini camcorders.

But Pure is by no means the only major acquisition Cisco has made in the consumer market. In fact, the company so far has pretty much built this part of its business through acquisitions. In 2003, it got its start in the competitive CE market with the $500 million acquisition of the home-networking equipment maker Linksys. Then in 2005, it bought Scientific Atlanta, a quasi-consumer electronics company, for $7 billion. Scientific Atlanta makes set-top boxes that Cisco sells to subscription TV providers.… Read more

Cisco announced Thursday that it will pay more than $600 million to buy Pure Digital, the company that makes Flip Video camcorders. Reporter Marguerite Reardon joins today's podcast to talk about why that shouldn't be a surprise.

Also in this podcast: Microsoft unveils Internet Explorer 8; a security conference in Canada that got makers of Safari, Firefox, and IE's attention; and Google adds a feature to Gmail that just might make your life Rickroll-free.

Today's stories:

Cisco buys Flip Video maker for $590 million

Oracle delivers solid third quarter

Safari hole exploited in seconds at hacking contest… Read more

Pure Digital, maker of the popular Flip Video camera, is reportedly nearing a deal to be acquired by Cisco, according to a report in TechCrunch.

TechCrunch cites several anonymous sources saying that San Francisco-based Pure Digital is considering a sale. Another source says the Cisco sale "is a done deal," and puts the price tag at "north of $500 million."

Pure Digital CEO Jonathan Kaplan wasn't available for comment.

Pure Digital had been in the business of making one-time-use cameras for about five years before it hit the jackpot with its Flip Video, a small, … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Before making the new inexpensive mini camcorder it unveiled at CES Wednesday, Sony tried to purchase the category leader, Pure Digital.

Sony Electronics President Stan Glasgow on Wednesday told CNET News that the vastly popular Flip Video camera made by Pure Digital came onto Sony's radar almost two years ago. Glasgow said he knew he wanted Sony to have a product in the category and talked to San Francisco-based Pure Digital about a possible acquisition six months ago.

Without saying how much Pure Digital was asking, Glasgow said it was much more than Sony wanted to pay. The … Read more

The cheap car price wars are heating up with Hyundai's announcement that it is dropping the price of its Accent GS three door to $9,970, knocking the $9,990 Nissan Versa 1.6 from its short-lived position as the least-expensive car in America. With a single $20 separating the two vehicles, let's take a look at the specs and see how cheapskate champions compare.

Starting under the hood, both vehicles are equipped with 1.6-liter four-bangers. Nissan's 107-horsepower engine is just edged out by the Hyundai's 110-horsepower mill. Both qualify as Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicles (ULEV) … Read more

Logitech's line of Pure-Fi iPod speaker docks has swelled to six, and CNET's reviewed pretty much every one. Some of the models have very similar features and price points, so it seemed like a perfect candidate for a cheat sheet:

*The Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 is not yet reviewed, but it's pretty much identical to the original Pure-Fi Anywhere, but with the addition of iPhone shielding. **The Pure-Fi Express isn't yet reviewed, but it's effectively a renamed version of the older AudioStation Express.

Basically, go with the Elite if you want the best sound quality--we still … Read more

Logitech makes several iPod/iPhone audio systems, ranging in size and price from about $70 to about $200. The company's Pure-Fi Express Plus rolls in around $100 and it's designed to be a simple, compact, stereo speaker with a built-in clock and alarm that can be used at home or taken on the road, so long as you're willing to splurge on a set of six AA batteries that power the unit when you cut the cord.

Read the full review.

Motorola announced two new Bluetooth headsets Thursday, namely the Motorola Pure H15 and the Motorola H780.

The Pure H15 (code name Adonis) is the star of the show with a compact and lightweight design along with a flip boom mic, which we haven't seen in a lot of headsets. The flip also acts as a power switch of sorts--open it to talk and close it to conserve battery life. Even though both headsets come with CrystalTalk technology that enhances voice clarity, the H15 takes it a step further with background noise cancellation.

Both the H15 and the H780 have … Read more

Logitech is adding two more budget models to its Pure-Fi line of iPod speakers. The Pure-Fi Anytime shares several features with the Pure-Fi Dream--both are dual alarm clock radios with motion-sensing snooze alarms and recessed docks. The Anytime is smaller and has more traditional styling than the Dream, but costs half as much--just $100. We also noted the Anytime looked very similar to the recently announced Altec Lansing inMotion Moondance GLOW iM402. … Read more