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Nokia halts development of its $45,000 VR camera
Nokia created the Ozo spherical camera to get into the virtual reality market without having to compete with head-mounted devices like the Oculus Rift. Alas, things didn't go as well as the company wanted despite not having to compete with a plethora of VR goggles -- it's halting Ozo's development and cutting up to 310 jobs in the process. Nokia said the "the slower-than-expected development of the VR market" forced it to optimize its investments in virtual reality, and the rig happened to be one of the casualties. It now plans to focus on its digital health projects, particularly the ones it acquired when it purchased Withings, and its profitable patent licensing business.
Nokia 8's dual-camera is good, but rival phones offer more
The Nokia 8 broke cover in the run-up to IFA 2017, so while it wasn't officially launched at the show in Germany, it's one of several phones vying for your cash ahead of a certain company's next phone. It's the most accomplished Android phone that Nokia has made, but with Nokia's tradition of pushing mobile-imaging forward, how does it fare against the mighty cameraphone competition in 2017? We took an early device around Berlin to see how it fared.
Sony Pictures will stream live VR with Nokia's Ozo camera
Nokia made some great smartphone cameras back in the day, but we certainly didn't expect that to lead to the Ozo, a $45,000, 360-degree 3D virtual reality camera. Now, the Finnish company will provide expertise and Ozo cameras to Sony Pictures, which will use them to create VR content. The studio will also take advantage of the Ozo Live VR broadcast capability "to transport fans to Sony Pictures events that they couldn't otherwise attend," the company wrote.
Nokia's VR camera gets a $15,000 discount
Nokia's trolley-dash approach to business means that it now makes health gadgets and professional-level VR cameras. The latter arm sells one product, a $60,000 VR camera called Ozo which is bought by studios like Disney and UEFA. In order to gee-up demand and to celebrate launching in China, Nokia is now hacking $15,000 off the asking price for the gear. The first customer to grab the unit in the middle kingdom is LeVR, the surprisingly-named VR arm of Chinese superconglomerate LeEco. From this we can take one of two things: either Nokia overpriced the hardware, or it's so staggeringly popular that everyone (in the industry) wants one.
Some Euro 2016 soccer games will be shot in virtual reality
The Union of European Football Association, more commonly known as UEFA, has revealed that it will be filming matches in virtual reality at the Euro 2016 Finals. The tournament, which takes places in France starting June 10th, brings together the best 24 teams from Europe -- including England, Germany, Spain and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal. According to The Daily Mirror, UEFA is going to use dozens of Nokia's $60,000 OZO cameras to capture 360-degree video inside stadiums, although it's unclear what the organization plans to do with the footage.
Disney forges a deal to use Nokia's VR camera
Nokia's Ozo virtual reality camera might have been a big gamble for a company best known for its former cellphone business, but it appears that this roll of the dice is paying off. Disney has struck a deal with Nokia to create VR "experiences" using the Ozo camera. Don't expect feature-length movies, at least not yet. This is more about making complements to those movies, such as the 360-degree cast interview for The Jungle Book.
Nokia's Ozo camera now broadcasts live VR
Now that live virtual reality is hitting the mainstream, you need a camera to make it happen, don't you? Nokia is happy to help. It's creating a live VR broadcasting option for its Ozo camera that will show 360-degree video as it happens, complete with spatial audio. You aren't likely to use this yourself when it costs about $60,000 to get an Ozo, but it'll be a big deal for streaming providers and other broadcasters that want to experiment with VR. It'll reach a handful of partners in the spring, and should be widely available this summer.
Nokia president talks Ozo and the company's big VR bet
"We had some projects in augmented reality. We had projects in the camera. We had projects in head-mounted displays," says Nokia Technologies president Ramzi Haidamus, speaking to Engadget at the Sundance Film Festival about the company's virtual reality pivot. "We had projects all over the ecosystem, so to speak. And it was a combination of: How good are we technically? How well are we protected from an IP perspective? And finally, where is the area where we're going to get the biggest advantage from the time to market?"
Nokia's next move is VR with this $60,000 OZO camera
Nokia announced its new hardware a few months ago, and tonight at an event in Los Angeles revealed it's opening preorders for the OZO virtual reality camera. A professional-level device capable of recording its surroundings in 360-degree spherical video, it will require a mere $60,000 -- with $5k down payment up front -- to secure one when shipments start in Q1 2016. The full specs are also out now, revealing it uses eight synchronized 2K x 2K camera sensors, which record to a 500GB solid state drive that can hold up to 45 minutes of footage. Pros like Jaunt are apparently using the new camera for their VR capturing, and now you can too. You can see the full list, along with accessories like its $1,500 docking station on the OZO website, while you ponder what amazing life experiences justify that pricetag.
