Nokia announced that it is slashing $15,000 off the price tag of its Ozo virtual reality camera as part of the company's next step in its VR evolution.
Nokia first announced the Ozo VR camera more than a year ago, marking the company's return to the consumer market after exiting the mobile phone industry. The camera, which is capable of capturing 360-degree videos with audio, was geared toward professional content creators as opposed to regular consumers.
The price tag of $60,000 for the Ozo VR camera was revealed in December 2015. Nokia is now dropping the device's price to $45,000, as it moves to launch the Ozo VR camera in China.
"Our ultimate goal for Virtual Reality is to create tools for the world's most brilliant, creative people, empowering them to bring their VR visions to life, and to enable truly immersive, compelling VR experiences that are accessible to everyone," wrote Nokia head of presence capture Guido Voltolina in the blog post announcing the new price tag and the expansion into China for the Ozo VR camera.
According to Voltolina, there is massive demand and interest in China for the technologies and devices that enable virtual reality. This is the reason for the company's decision to launch the Ozo VR camera into the Asian country after the device's success in the United States and Europe.
The Ozo VR camera will be available for ordering in China through Nokia's partners by next month, with shipments expected to begin by October. Nokia also revealed that it has teamed up with LeVR, which is the VR division of Chinese online video company LeEco, to distribute Ozo VR solutions on their platform to drive forward the adoption of the technology.
The lower price for the Ozo VR camera, according to Nokia, will increase the device's availability and accessibility to more professional VR content creators, as well as push the Ozo VR camera's penetration around the world and in China.
Making the Ozo VR camera cheaper will help in one of the VR industry's current dilemmas at its relatively fledgling stage. Professional content creators, whom Nokia is targeting with the Ozo VR camera, need a dedicated user base to be driven to create VR content, but on the other hand, there needs to be good VR content available to push users to invest in buying VR headsets.
With a lower price for the Ozo VR, professionals who are looking to get into VR might give it a second look, as it is now easier to recoup the investment that will be made.
