Nokia's been quiet lately but we could see new VR hardware by the end of July
Nokia is set to announce a virtual reality device at a VIP event on 28 July in Los Angeles. We know precisely nothing about the device itself, including whether or not it’s a headset, but according to Recode, Nokia is about to launch VR hardware.
Essential Reading: The best VR headsets
Nokia Technologies is the company with a bit of an identity crisis. This would be the first big hardware launch for the Finnish company since it sold off its mobile phone business two years ago. Since then it has released the Nokia N1 tablet and an Android app launcher, so nothing spectacular.
The only hint that it is working in this space so far is that Nokia’s CEO Rajeev Suri told shareholders it was pursuing “immersive imaging”. Is that a VR headset or another Nokia camera technology, perhaps a 360 degree video cam?
If the rumblings are true, Nokia would be up against big players with mobile VR headsets already on sale in the form of Samsung’s Gear VR and Google Cardboard, plus releases set for late 2015 and 2016 for the likes of the HTC Vive and Sony’s Project Morpheus.
Then there’s Oculus, arguably the king of VR, with its recent purchase of Pebbles Interfaces that could be providing hand tracking tech for the headset. It won’t be easy for Nokia to compete with such strong opposition unless it can get a device on shelves within the next 12 months.
Stay tuned to Wareable for all the official Nokia announcements on 28 July.
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