Weeks ago, rumors began to surface that Nokia might have a virtual reality product in the works and on Tuesday, at a special event in Los Angeles, the company finally put an end to the mystery.
First teasing the device via Twitter with a partial picture, the same image shown on the event's invite, minutes later Nokia revealed its new 360-degree view camera called the OZO.
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The sleek, black camera looks absolutely weird, and we love it.
From the front it looks like a nightmarish set of robot insect eyes, and from the side it looks like a bubble blown in a 3D virtual environment. Translation: This is a cool looking device.
"We’re thrilled to introduce OZO to the world, and to define a completely new category of virtual reality capture and playback solutions," Ramzi Haidamus, president of Nokia Technologies, said in a statement provided to Mashable.
"OZO aims to advance the next wave of innovation in VR by putting powerful tools in the hands of professionals who will create amazing experiences for people around the world. We expect VR soon will radically enhance the way people communicate and connect to stories, entertainment, world events and each other."
Nokia reveals first ever 360 camera. Meet "Ozo" a VR game changer. pic.twitter.com/VjGK4mvAAu— Cameron Curtis (@cscurtis) July 29, 2015
Inside there are eight synchronized global shutter sensors designed to capture stereoscopic 3D video, eight integrated microphones capable of recording spatial audio and a combined battery and SSD cartridge (additional technical specifications will be released in the coming months).
Nokia unveils new VR camera in LA tonight pic.twitter.com/O17ouq3VcF— 3D Society (@3Dsociety) July 29, 2015
The debut of the OZO, and its intriguing look, bodes well for the future of virtual reality content creation, as it now seems like every major technology brand wants a piece of the VR space.
Nokia's OZO will be available in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of this year.