1/23/2006 -- In retrospect, Cisco Systems Inc.'s acquisition late last year of Scientific Atlanta Inc. was a sure sign of things to come.

After all, television set-top juggernaut Scientific Atlanta gave Cisco priority of place in the digital home of the future -- i.e., on top of, or otherwise integrated with, the ubiquitous Great Glass God (that's the television set, folks).

If the acquisition of Scientific Atlanta didn't tip Cisco's hand, the company's announcement last week of a plan to expand into the consumer electronics market with branded phones, radios and home theater gear certainly did.

Cisco expects to leverage its brand recognition, industry expertise, and already substantive consumer foothold -- thanks not only to its Scientific Atlanta assets, but also owing to its hugely popular Linksys products -- to push its way further into the consumer space. "Consumer electronics companies have been able to compete on a stand-alone device, but the dynamics of the market are changing," said Charles Giancarlo, Cisco's chief development officer, in an interview with the U.K.-based Financial Times, which broke the story. "The Internet and new networking requirements are enough of a disruptor for us to enter a new market." -Stephen Swoyer