VRjournal is reporting that Nokia is gearing up for a major move into virtual reality, likely with the release of its own VR headset in the coming days or weeks.
“From a VR perspective, a Nokia VR device would be another product for consumers to mull over and developers to possibly build for,” according to David Nield for ReadWrite.”The movement kicked off by the Oculus Rift has since attracted the likes of HTC/Steam, Samsung (whose device runs Oculus technology), Sony, Google and several smaller names, not to mention related projects by giants such as Microsoft.”
For the moment, with few facts on the table, Nokia’s device is still a mystery, as is any idea whether it would work off an existing platform or present a new one to the growing cadre of VR app developers.
“For the people who will build the immersive, virtual experiences users will enjoy, that matters a great deal,” Nield explains. “Coding apps multiple times to support various platforms and devices plagued mobile developers for years. Right now, it’s not entirely clear if the same situation will ding the VR programming experience.”
MMW will report on the Nokia “mystery device” as soon as more is known. In the meantime, Nield is upbeat about another player in the mix.
“If there’s a glimmer of hope, it may be this: The broader virtual reality’s appeal becomes, the more developer tools we’ll see,” concludes Nield. “After all, neither filmmakers nor advertisers will want the complexity of remaking multiple versions of their virtual worlds. In that sense, if a Nokia-branded set of goggles really are on the tarmac, then everyone involved in VR should hope they take off and inspire greater adoption.”
