Cisco sees acquisitions with focus on video

By Sinead Carew

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers said he expects to make a "stream of acquisitions" with a particular focus on video, as part of an effort to remake the company as a consumer electronics brand.

"Video is the key application that I focus on," Chambers told Reuters, when asked where he expects to make the acquisitions after a presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

"It isn't just data categories or voice categories. We see it in visual as well," he said.

During the presentation, Chambers promised the audience a consumer technology-related acquisitions and new consumer product announcements, as often as every two months, from Cisco, the world's largest maker of switches and routers that connect Internet traffic.

"You will see a steady stream of product announcements, of partnership announcements and acquisition announcements," he said.

Cisco, which analysts have said would face challenges reinventing itself as a consumer brand, was "really committed to this consumer market." The company is showcasing a wireless home audio system linked to an online media service at CES, for example.

"We're putting the whole power of the company behind it," he said.

Chambers declined to answer any questions about the economy, or whether visibility had improved since the company reported earnings in October. He opened his presentation with a warning that reporters should not take anything he was about to say as a comment on the economy.