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Scott Stein/CNET
Virtual-reality products are emerging everywhere. It looks like we can add Nokia to that list.
Nokia is getting ready to unveil a VR platform next week in Los Angeles, according to Recode. As to the platform, or what it will do, there aren’t any details yet.
Nokia would be the latest in a number of high-profile companies to dabble in virtual reality. The technology, which immerses you in another world courtesy of a headset, has drawn the interest of heavy hitters such as Facebook, which spent $2 billion on virtual-reality startup Oculus; Sony; Samsung; HTC; and gaming company Valve. Many view VR it as the next hot trend in tech.
A move into virtual reality would mark the biggest consumer-centric move by Nokia since the company sold off its mobile devices and services business to Microsoft last year. Earlier this year Nokia released the N1 tablet , which ran on Google’s Android operating system. And the company has hinted at a return to the smartphone business later this year.
But virtual reality is a technology that’s becoming slightly fragmented across competing platforms: desktop PCs, game consoles and mobile phones. Samsung’s Gear VR runs exclusively on two select Samsung phones in its own Oculus ecosystem; Google Cardboard is a simple set of folding goggles that can work with any VR-ready iOS or Android phone app.
A Nokia spokesman wasn’t available for comment.
