Nokia will launch its OZO professional virtual reality (VR) camera and software in China next month, it said today.
In tandem, the Finnish vendor has also slashed the price of the unit by around 25 percent, from $60,000 to $45,000 in the US, and from €55,000 to €40,000 in Europe.
Equivalent pricing is anticipated in China. OZO will be available to order through Nokia resellers in China in September, with shipments expected in October.
OZO launched late last year in Europe and the US. It is targeted at VR content creators, and reduces the time, complexity and costs of capturing and editing VR content, according to its maker.
Nokia has announced a parallel deal in China with LeVR, the VR division of Chinese online video company LeEco, to distribute OZO content.
Nokia is also scheduled to introduce its OZO Live broadcasting solution and OZO Player software developer kit (SDK) to selected partners before the summer is out, and more widely in the autumn. OZO Live allows streaming of 360-degree audio and video content.
The OZO Player SDK allows VR creators to develop immersive audio-visual applications and experiences, with support for all VR video and audio formats.
Ramzi Haidamus, President of Nokia Technologies, said: “There’s a genuine hunger among consumers for more immersive, high quality and professionally produced entertainment. As a single-body camera giving content professionals a simple way to produce compelling content for their audiences, OZO is tailor made to fill a very important gap.”