While Nokia’s VR camera, OZO, was announced several months back, the company has been cagey with details. Until now that is. Nokia has delivered some tantalizing details about how its VR Camera solution will work and what features it’s expected to roll out with.
Announced in Los Angeles, Nokia hopes to revolutionize the VR industry the same way it did with the mobile phone business in its heydays.
Nokia OZO – The VR Camera from the Finnish giant
To begin with, the Nokia OZO will be able to shoot 360-degree live videos, a notable upgrade over the 180-degree form that’s prevalent in competing VR products. To show this capability, Nokia broadcasted a stream of a concert seven miles away from the event location. The stream also had 360-degree audio support, another feature that’s not exactly common.
The camera itself comes with 8 synchronized 2K v 2K sensors. For storage, you get a 500 GB solid state drive, with the capability to shoot 45-minute videos in a single go.
Nokia also unveiled multiple accessories for the OZO. These are available as of now, including a $1,500 docking station and a $5,000 spare cartridge for storing additional scenes.
What’s next for Nokia VR?
The OZO supports all of the VR platforms which are available, including those of the most popular VR headsets out there. Nokia is currently in talks with other companies on a number of projects, several of whom have already started, including live streaming basketball games and shooting 360-degree VR movies.
What we already knew then is just the same as now though: the price, which stands at a staggering $60,000. You can book one with a $5,000 upfront payment.
This product isn’t geared towards the mainstream VR market, at least not yet. It is more suited for the professional and industrial side for now.
The Nokia OZO is expected to ship in the first half of 2016.
