Nokia is opening a major avenue for expansion by bringing its high-end Ozo VR camera to China, the company announced on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
An article published by The Verge.com said that the 360-degree camera, which is equipped with "ready-to-go stitching and production pipelines", will be sold in China in September this year, although it is available in the U.S. and Europe now.
Nokia also said that it is offering a new price for the camera, which was originally sold for $60,000. It is now offering $15,000 discounts to some individuals and early adopters or users.
But the company said that the Ozo camera, which is being sold on retail for $45,000 in the U.S. and €40,000 in Europe, will be sold at an equivalent price during the China launch.
Nokia Technologies president Ramzi Haidamus said in an interview earlier this year, that Ozo is a professional production tool similar to the Arri Alexa or RED's line of cameras. He added that the product's potential market will be the professional camera rental houses.
Ozo head of presence capture Guido Voltolina said that the discounted early adopter program has made their sales better than expected and also made it possible for them to expand into China.
""Next year I can see the China VR market on par, if not bigger, than North America," Voltolina said.
"VR in China is beyond exploding," he added. "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."
According to the report, Nokia's plans also include a partnership with LeEco, which will distribute the Ozo content through its LeVR division.
Voltolina said that the expansion is a big opportunity for Nokia as China is now opening access to hardware and new business experiences.
"PlayStation VR is really focusing on China as one of its key markets from the very beginning. VR cafes are popping up like mushrooms," Voltolina said. "It's all about making the technology available, even to ones that cannot afford the whole system."
But Voltolina said that even in the U.S., the approach did not pick up fast, with a company called Awesome Rocketship which used it first as standalone VR stations in movie theaters' lobbies and malls two weeks ago.
Disney also announced that it would be using Ozo cameras for many of its 360-degree VR initiatives, but it has not made any strong promotions yet, the report said.
The report said that Nokia's expansion into China is a smart move for Ozo to gain foothold before other competitors come along.