Tag: virtual reality

According to HTC China’s President, VR is going to last longer than the smartphone cycle.

Virtual reality (VR) is going to dominate smartphones within four years, says Alvin Graylin, president of HTC China. Speaking at Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Graylin said that VR is the upcoming disruptor that will dominate mobile phones. It took smarpthones five years to surpass the total unit sales of PC and now he predicts VR will do the same to Smartphones in four years.

“VR is going to take over, and I predict it will last longer than nine years,” Graylin stated. “It’s going to replace every screen, and users will enjoy a different way to experience things like live events.”

HTC plans to invest billions in the future of VR.

HTC, the Taiwanese consumer electronics company, recently launched a consortium that brings together 28 of the world’s biggest VC (venture capital) firms. This consortium is dedicated to investing $10 billion in the future of virtual reality.

Graylin said at the Mobile World Congress that the VR VC Alliance will not only invest in a VR future but also set the direction for where this immersive technology is headed. “Think about what $10 billion can do for this industry,” he stated.

Graylin boasts that HTC’s virtual reality hardware is far superior to its competition.

HTC has put a great deal of time, effort and money into its VR headset Vive. Graylin said that compared to the VR hardware of other companies like Oculus, Samsung and Sony, Vive is way ahead of the game in terms of providing both a higher quality experience and having far more content.

Currently, Vive already has over 300 titles and Graylin said that this is like to become a “four-digit number very soon.” The executive expressed that the success of VR also depends on great content.

HTC launched its $100 million Vive X fund program two months ago. The program is designed to jump-start development. According to Graylin, the company has already received 1,200 applications from companies across the globe. Half of the companies are from China.

As for its plans to spin off its virtual reality group, an independent company was recently approved by the HTC board to operate the Vive business.

12,500 products are now available to view and purchase at the online marketplace’s Australian department store, Myer.

Australian consumers can now head to the Myer department store through eBay in order to be able to enjoy a virtual reality shopping experience that has been created by the massive online marketplace.

In order to be able to take part in this VR experience, shoppers will need to wear Shopticals.

The Shopticals are special virtual reality shopping goggles, which are essentially an altered version of the cardboard viewer from Google. Over 100 products are already viewable in 3D, but the VR technology will take things to an entirely different level. In order to make sure that Australians are properly equipped to go shopping within the virtual reality environment, eBay is giving away 1,000 of the Shopticals every day until 20,000 have been distributed.

Consumers can also request a pair of their own Shopticals virtual reality shopping goggles online.

All consumers need to do is visit ebay.com.au/vr and they can request a pair of their own Shopticals. A spokesperson from eBay has explained that there is already an “incredible” demand for the VR goggles and the company is going to be broadening the ways in which it distributes them soon. Myer is among the most recent retail additions to the Australian eBay sellers.

That retailer was selected by eBay for its very first VR shopping launch partner due to the broad spectrum of products that Myer has to offer, said a spokesperson from eBay. She explained that “We wanted to make sure that the first time people shop in VR they can see a wide selection of brands and categories, and a department store felt like the best way to showcase breadth and depth of selection.”

In order to use the Shopticals for virtual reality shopping on Myer at eBay Australia, the consumer needs the eBay VR app, which is already available at Android and iOS. Once the headset is on, the shopper can move through the digital department store and look around at the large selection of various products that are available there.