Finnish tech company Nokia has announced that it will reduce the price of its OZO virtual reality camera by 25% from its launch price.
According to an announcement on Thursday the OZO VR camera will now sell for $45,000 rather than the initial $60,000. Nokia started selling the camera earlier this year, and the OZO is the first device in its digital media business, according to Reuters.
Nokia cuts price of OZO, moves to Chinese market
The company was best known for its dominance of the cellphone market, but now concentrates on telecoms network equipment after losing out heavily in the smartphone era. Nokia hopes that its digital media business could be a source of growth in the future.
Nokia will soon start selling the OZO in China. The camera has 8 sensors and microphones, designed to make 3D movies and games suitable for virtual reality headsets.
According to the company the new price reflects rapid developments in the virtual reality market. The technology has become a real trend, with big companies such as GoPro, Facebook and Samsung releasing virtual reality devices.
Shifting tech landscape inspires moves at Nokia
Nokia sold its phone business to Microsoft in 2014, but recently announced that it would be re-entering the handset market with a new company backed by former executives and Foxconn, which bought the rights to the brand.
The move into China is particularly significant, according to OZO head of presence capture Guido Voltolina.
“VR in China is beyond exploding,” Voltolina says. “Investments, new companies offering content creation; all aspects of the ecosystem are going crazy on VR, to the point that in the early part of next year I can see the China VR market on par, if not bigger, than North America.”
Virtual reality is seeing a boom in China, as is the traditional movie industry. Analysts believe that the Chinese movie market will be bigger than the U.S. by next year. Nokia is also planning a partnership with LeEco, a Chinese company that is part of that boom.
LeEco recently acquired Vizio and is producing The Great Wall movie, starring Matt Damon, through its movie studio LeVision. The company will distribute Ozo content via its LeVR division.
