After purchasing the Flip Video unit from company Pure Digital in 2009, Cisco Systems, which is based in San Jose, announced today that it would be shutting down the Flip Video unit to try and focus itself on a more narrow range of products.  As a result of closing down this part of its business, Cisco will have to spend about $300 million in the first half of the year, and about 550 jobs will end up getting cut.

Although the Flip camera was popular initially, in recent years its popularity has waned due to increased technology in smartphone video cameras which now meets or surpasses the video quality provided by the Flip.

Although the Flip camera will not be produced by Cisco anymore, its video sharing service for the camera, called FlipShare, will still be supported “with a transition plan”, according to Cisco.

According to a report today by the Los Angeles Times, with this move, and potentially others to follow, Cisco is planning on focusing on four “key company priorities”: core routing, switching and services; collaboration; data center architectures; and video for business customers.