BERLIN—It's not virtual, just reality: the biggest surprise of the IFA trade show so far is the smallest camera.
Alcatel today rolled out a 360-degree VR camera, the Alcatel 360, which starts at $99, and a standalone, Android-powered headset, the Alcatel Vision. We got some time with both of them, and even recorded some video with the 360 camera.
"We did a pretty good job on the Idol 4, with VR in the box. We sold more than a million of the VR solution ... this is an opportunity to advance our VR offering," said Alcatel president Nicolas Zibell.
360-degree cameras tend to be expensive. The Samsung Gear 360, which I use for my 360s, costs $349. The Alcatel 360 kicks the price down to $99 by offloading all of the processing to your phone. It's just a set of lenses with a MicroUSB port on the bottom. Initially, you'll need an Alcatel Pop4, Idol 4, or Idol 4S phone to use it, but early next year it'll become compatible with other Android phones with a Snapdragon 625 or better processor, Zibell said.
"We need 360 cameras in the hands of consumers, and there are opportunities for a much more affordable 360 camera in the market," he said.
I tried recording some video with the camera and the results weren't great. While Alcatel said it'll support 2K video at 30 frames per second, the early software it was demoing only recorded 1080p video for two minutes at about 5 frames per second. It wasn't good enough to properly determine if it worked. But it's a great idea, and I hope it does work.
The physical form of the camera isn't even set. Alcatel showed me two units: one a little globe, and the other a flatter rectangle with lenses on both sides. It hasn't decided which one will come to the US, Zibell said.
Alcatel also showed off its new Vision, a standalone, Android 6.0-powered headset that will sell for $500-$600. It's a big white object, with a battery pack that fits behind your head and rests at the top of your neck. Putting the battery behind you makes the portion over your face lighter, and the headset was pretty comfortable with glasses, although it initially pinched my nose.
With two 1,080-by-1,200 lenses, an octo-core 2.1GHz Mediatek processor, and Android 6.0, the Vision feels a lot like wearing aSamsung Gear VR, although without the expense of the phone. It has the same touchpad on the side, a similar menu structure, and the same problem of being just low-res enough that you really squint to look at pixelated objects in the distance.
The device has a three-hour battery life. It'll support VR video content from Jaunt VR as well as sideloaded content, and Alcatel is working on more content partnerships. When I was wearing it, all it had was a few demo videos and games. Getting YouTube, Facebook, and maybe even IMAX on board will be absolutely key, especially if it costs $600.
Zibell spoke of the Vision almost as if it's a dev kit or an experiment. The company will be using it to "engage with VR partners" and developers, to show it's serious about the VR market. The software could change in the future, for instance becoming Oculus/Gear VR or Daydream compatible.
Both the Alcatel 360 and the Vision project are pretty early. But Alcatel has been very good at getting products to market and making them affordable. The Vision looks like an interesting toe in the water, but I'm much more excited by the little camera. If Alcatel can work out the software—that's a big if, of course—it could bring 360-degree recording to tens of millions of people. Get ready to see a lot more 360-degree videos on Facebook, if that happens.
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