Category: Shopping

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HTC Launches Dedicated Mobile Platform Viveport M

HTC Launches Dedicated Mobile Platform Viveport M

In mid-October this year, HTC made a few announcements signaling a major push forward with VR content. Those announcements included a content partnership with the Alibaba Group, a VR arcade publishing model, and the mobile VR platform Viveport M. Later into October we saw the fruits of the VR arcade initiative with the launch of the first virtual reality arcade in Shenzhen, China and now the rest of those plans are bearing fruit. HTC Vive has finally launched the dedicated mobile content platform Viveport M.

“Viveport is currently the leading VR content distribution platform in China,” said Regional President of HTC Vive in China, Alvin Graylin, in a prepared statement. “It’s an honor for Viveport M to be selected by so many top-level partners as their preferred distribution platform.”

Viveport M is a mobile application compatible with most Android phones with a dedicated VR ecosystem, helping users to find VR apps and videos for consumption. There will be mobile VR games across tons of genres too, and HTC has a referral program with Youku VR to provide video content from a large library. HTC is also capitalizing on the shopping craze as Alibaba’s Double 11 event nears. Double 11, or “Singles Day”, has become one of the largest online shopping events in the world and users can earn a Vive-branded VR cardboard display if they download two apps from Viveport M (one must be a paid app) and send a screenshot to the public Vive WeChat account. Also, if users purchase two or more apps on the Viveport client for PC they can earn  RMB 50 virtual credits (roughly $7.37 USD).

Vivepaper, a platform we previously covered that combines VR and AR technology to deliver an innovative print publication experience, is also available on Viveport M. Viveport M can be downloaded using Alibaba’s PP Helper mobile application.

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Alibaba gibt Hinweis auf Virtual Reality Shopping

Online-Shopping erfreut sich großer Beliebtheit. Man muss nicht in einer Schlange an der Kasse stehen, die Bewertungen sind meist hilfreicher als manche Verkäufer und das Haus muss außerdem auch nicht verlassen werden. Dennoch ist die Shopping-Erfahrung natürlich etwas eingeschränkt. Wir schauen uns das Produkt auf einen Monitor an und vermuten, wie das Produkt wirklich aussehen könnte. Alibaba möchte dies nun mit Virtual Reality ändern.

Virtual Reality Shopping mit Alibaba

Auf Twitter hat Alibaba ein Video veröffentlicht, welches die neue Shopping-Erfahrung für Buy+ Kunden zeigt. Im Video wird ein Geschäft dargestellt, indem sich der Kunde frei bewegt, das Produkt aus allen Blickwinkeln begutachtet  und anschließend natürlich das Produkt auch direkt kauft. Das aktuelle Video von Alibaba ist aber eindeutig keine Aufnahme aus der echten Erfahrung. Im Video wählt ihr eine Szene aus, steigt in ein Auto ein und haltet bei dem entsprechendem Geschäft an und betretet dieses anschließend. Dieses Geschäft ist aber keine Nachbildung, sondern wird in Form eines Videos gezeigt, indem ihr euch frei bewegen könnt. Dies ist mit der aktuellen Technologie nicht möglich. Ihr könnt entweder eine echte 360 Grad 3D Aufnahme sehen und euch nicht bewegen oder eine erstellte Nachbildung des Geschäfts sehen und euch in dieser frei bewegen.

Natürlich handelt es sich aber auch um einen Werbefilm und in solchen Spots übertreiben die Erschaffer gerne etwas. Wie die tatsächliche Erfahrung aussehen wird, werden wir sicherlich bald erfahren. Auch Amazon plant den Schritt in die virtuelle Realität und hat bereits angekündigt, dass Shops für PlayStation VR, die HTC Vive und die Oculus Rift in Arbeit sind. Außerdem hat das Unternehmen viel Geld in Crytek investiert und Crytek ist in Deutschland ein Vorreiter in Sachen Virtual Reality.

Doch auch Alibaba ist kein unbeschriebenes Blatt im Bereich VR. Das Unternehmen befindet sich in einer Partnerschaft mit HTC. HTC möchte gewissen Berechnungen in die Alibaba Cloud auslagern, um die Mindestanforderungen von Virtual Reality Inhalten zu senken.

Der Beitrag Alibaba gibt Hinweis auf Virtual Reality Shopping zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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Alibaba Teases VR Shopping Experience

Alibaba Teases VR Shopping Experience

Online shopping is the ultimate convenience when indulging in our retail obsessions or just seeking out the essentials. With only a few clicks, we can compare prices, designs, and features without having to brave vehicular traffic, foot traffic, or the ever unpredictable attitude of the employees tasked with guiding our perusing. While the absence of those things is a relief, there are aspects of a brick & mortar building that are missed when shopping online and Alibaba may have a solution with their Buy+ service.

A recent tweet from the Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce company, showed off the Buy+ virtual reality device. The video teases the promised functionality from putting on the goggles to making a purchase. At the start, the video’s protagonist dons the goggles and watches as a small room is digitally created. After looking around, he notices a wall of moving pictures, like Harry Potter, and each one depicts a different major city around the world. The user mistakenly chooses one of the images and drops into a lowrider traveling through New York City, eventually ending up in a Macy’s department store. Once there, he wanders down an aisle and chooses a purse that his girlfriend may like. This prompts a new layer to pop up on the VR interface, showing all angles of the purse, price, and purchase options. The interface is mostly in Chinese, so there are some smaller elements that we’ll have to wait to understand (we reached out to Alibaba for comment and will update if we receive a response).

The video is likely a goal concept, showing what they hope Buy+ will be in its final form.

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Adidas Launches New Soccer Boot Through London PlayStation VR Experience

Adidas Launches New Soccer Boot Through London PlayStation VR Experience

The PlayStation VR launch is creeping ever closer with October 13th right around the corner. While gamers and enthusiast await their personal devices, Polynoid, Woodblock, and Adidas have teamed up for a unique promotional event utilizing PS VR. Like the next groundbreaking cell phone release or a Black Friday sale, shoe releases can turn into major events and draw massive crowds. Adidas is bringing a new flavor to the shoe launch, immersing customers in a virtual space for their new Stellar Pack football boot.

The first time for such a release, Adidas stores across Europe will have PlayStation VR units on hand so customers can try the Stellar Pack experience. In 7.1 surround sound and full 360 degree video that lasts about a minute, users are thrown into outer space to see the new white and gold shoe assemble at a molecular level and collide with meteors.

It’s a curious setting for a virtual shoe launch for sure, but gives patrons a close up look at the football boot. Unless there’s a more involved experience in the future, we can’t really see this style of promo catching on in the shoe market, but the VR excitement alone will surely draw people in.

Polynoid is an established director and producer of short films and commercials and Woodblock is also an established is animated production. Adidas brings nearly 100 years of experience to the partnership, a mainstay in the show industry worldwide.

The Stellar Pack experience will be available until October 9th at Adidas stores in London, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Paris, and Milan. The new shoe hit soccer fields on September 27th, worn by players such as Paul Pogba, Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez, and Mesut Özil. It will be available for consumer purchase today, on the 30th. The Stellar Pack Adidas X Boot will be priced at €275.