My Thoughts on Technology and Jamaica: @google to develope Google @Android for VR - A VR and AR War on the Horizon in 2016

Sunday, March 8, 2015

@google to develope Google @Android for VR - A VR and AR War on the Horizon in 2016

Google, being as they “Do No Evil” thinks they can do better than a Cardboard Headset or licensing their tech to remake the US$30 Mattel View-master as reported in the article “Mattel's View-Master gets a Google VR makeover”, published February 13, 2015 6:05 AM PST by Ben Fox Rubin, CNET News and “Mattel And Google Relaunch View-Master As A Virtual Reality Headset”, published 2/13/2015 @ 9:42AM, by David M. Ewalt, Forbes


Google apparently has assembled a skunk-works of sorts in a bid to refashion Google Android into a Open Source OS for making VR and AR Headgear as reported by the Wall Street Journal in their article “Google’s Android to Take On Facebook in Virtual Reality”, published March 6, 2015 6:34 p.m. ET By ROLFE WINKLER, The Wall Street Journal.

Not sure how true this is, being as the Wall Street Journal was abnormally short, lacking the level of detailed analysis and quotation of Sources as one would come to expect of a Newspaper that's an institution in Journalism in the US of A. 


Some of the initial announcements in other blogs merely echoed the Wall Street Journal as noted in the article “WSJ: Google has a small team working on Android for VR”, published March 6th 2015 at 7:06 pm  by Richard Lawler, Engadget and “Google is reportedly working on a virtual-reality version of Android is coming after Oculus Rift, the Wall Street Journal reports”, published March 6, 2015 06:51 pm by Casey Newton, The Verge.

Even stranger, the reason begin proffered of Facebook being their competition seems strange; didn't Facebook buy Oculus Rift back in March 2014 for US$2 billion as noted in my blog article entitled “Facebook buys Oculus Rift for US$2 billion - Facebook Social Virtual Reality Future as Smartwatches and smartglasses herald the death of the smartphone in 2015”.

So why did it take Google so long to respond if Facebook's purchase of Oculus Rift was such a threat? Because they’re not the only ones coming on the horizon in a field of Gaming that’s expanding as rapidly as Wearables; other are coming, if you were to just put your head to the ground and hear their armies massing!

Google to develope Google Android for VR - Why a VR and AR War is looming on the Horizon in 2016

The Oculus Mobile VR Jam 2015, a VR/AR Competition now in its second year with an increased purse that’s sure to attract a lot of VR and AR Developers, even some in Jamaica.

Also HTC now stepping into the VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) ring in partnership with Valve with their HTC Vive VR Headgear at MWC (Mobile World Conference) 2015 in Barcelona Spain as reported in my blog article entitled “@Oculus Mobile VR Jam 2015 - How @samsung Gear VR is Gearing up for Competition in the VR and AR Space”.


Finally, let's not forget the Microsoft Hololens, about which I’m yet to write, the Sony Morpheus VR Headgear and the Samsung Gear VR, which uses technology licensed from Facebook owned Oculus Rift as noted in the article “Google is developing a virtual reality version of Android, report says”, published Mar 7, 2015 10:33 AM by Zach Miners, PcWorld.

So VR and AR, alongside Wearable Tech, is set to be hot. Google merely wants in on the action by creating Open source software as well as the App Store, making a potentially lucrative market unified from the start as opined in the article “Google is building a virtual reality version of Android”, published MAR. 6, 2015, 7:58 PM by MATT WEINBERGER, Business Insider.

So will this herald the start of a VR and AR War as predicted in the article “Google Working on VR for Android”, published  MARCH 7, 2015 BY DAMON POETER, PC Magazine? 23016 is only a year away and most of these products are slated for launch come 2016....and probably in time for MWC 2016!




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