Nokia is a company which has long been well-known within the technology community and a widely recognized brand of cell phones for years, but more recently ( in 2013) had sold off their phone division to Microsoft who took over the Nokia branding for mobile phones. Just a few a days ago Nokia had announced they would be holding a live event come July 28th, just one day after the OnePlus VR event to announce their new flagship OnePlus 2 smartphone. Since most people think of Nokia as a mobile phone brand, speculation immediately began that Nokia may finally be looking to announce a new smartphone, perhaps running Android with a proper Android interface and software build. However, that seemed unlikely given that they can’t legally build smartphones again yet due to Microsoft’s still in effect contract.
Although it’s still unknown exactly what Nokia’s announcement will be for in terms of device specifics, the latest details and report suggest Nokia will be unveiling some form of a VR device next week at their event. VR is becoming a hot topic of sorts with gaming as a popular driving force behind the technology, although there’s no word that Nokia’s VR technology too will have this focus like some of the others. It’s being developed by Nokia’s advanced product group called Nokia Technologies, and helps to showcase just hop popular VR tech has become for companies who produce electronics.
With simple and inexpensive products like Google Cardboard and more advanced offerings like the Gear VR from Samsung, HTC and Valve’s Vive headset, Sony’s Project Morpheus and others, Nokia stands to find some footing in a growing space which has products ranging from low to high cost with a focus on multiple consumer groups. How much will Nokia’s unit cost? What exactly will it do? When will it be available? All of these are currently mystery variables in the equation, but July 28th is only next week so before too long we’ll see exactly what Nokia has in store and what they’ve been cooking up. As a major brand with a well-known name, they have a chance to grab a piece of the market by giving consumers something that’s affordable and can deliver a more open compatibility with devices than something like the Samsung Gear VR.