GoPro Has Started Selling Odyssey, A 16-camera VR Rig

September 12, 2015 By Deborah Campbell Leave a Comment

The crazy 16-camera VR rig which GoPro announced at this year’s Google I/O conference is now available for purchase. Its official name is Odyssey and it costs $15,000.

However, not everyone can buy it.

Not because of its hefty price. You see, GoPro only sells it to a particular clientele. Customers need to submit an application on their website. If you aren’t a professional content creator or a producer, you’re out of luck.

Is Odyssey worth the bulky price tag?

For $15,000 you get a pretty great amount of gear. Buying the Odyssey entails that you own 16 top-shelf GoPro Hero 4 Black, a high-quality microphone, the essential rig with all the cables you need for film-making and a warranty in case something breaks.

You’ll also receive a Pelican case to carry the Odyssey in.

This is a great option for a new VR studio that isn’t looking to build a rig themselves. Yet, the fact that you need to submit an application to buy it seems a little bit annoying.

We’ve witnessed a huge frustration on tech forums regarding the OnePlus 2 and its stupid invite system. We know it’s a marketing stunt, and we know that it keeps the price down, but still – people want to buy it and they can’t.

This frustration may very well be present within the VR enthusiast community.

Odyssey is the first VR rig built for Google’s Jump platform announced at this year’s I/O conference. Jump will be the first VR ecosystem that will make VR development easy and its content consumption within a click away. At least, that’s the plan that Google envisions.

I think they will be a little bit out of luck when Steam catches on with their SteamVR headset and VR store.

Regardless, Jump will eventually lead to its inclusion within YouTube. Considering the addition of 360-degree videos earlier this year, this may very well be what the company is thinking.

Frustration aside, Google’s strategy for Jump is pretty tight. Not everyone is looking for this kind of machine. Only a certain type of company, or individual, is going to want to cough up $15,000. This means that Google and GoPro will not have to wade through countless beginner VR vids before they reach the ones that deserve to be featured on Jump.

This ensure that we won’t witness badly made, or downright boring, VR experiences in the first few months, years, of the Jump.

Both companies want to go further into the VR medium and will do so by outputting exceptional quality.

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GoPro Unveils Hero4, Their Tinniest Camera Yet

July 7, 2015 By Michael Turner 2 Comments

It isn’t news that GoPro is trying to innovate constantly, but their new GoPro Hero 4 is the darnedest camera yet – super tiny, and quite affordable!

The Hero4 Session is going to be available for purchase starting this July the 12th, for the price of $399 – it’s almost the same price as previous models.

The sport camera maker’s Hero4 Session will weigh about 2.6 ounces, that’s about 73 grams for you metric users. That’s about 0.3 ounces less than what their tinniest camera weighs – the Hero4 Silver weighs about 2.9 ounces.

The California-based company has noted that their new camera won’t need an additional waterproof case, because it’s already built to resist up to 33 feet under water.

The company has noted that their new camera will also be way easier to use – I didn’t thought that was even possible. You have one button to put on the camera, and start recording. That’s super efficient when you’re planning on taking a quick video – hey, time is of the essence when you’re trying to be an artist, and capturing that perfect shot will make your video stand out.

Investors don’t seem to be scared if GoPro can keep it’s growth pace, although we’ve seen a reduction of 81 cents per share, and down to $50.94. Last October it was about $90.

If you’re planning on capturing The Loch Ness monster, this little waterproof Hero4 might be the one for you.

As we are accustomed to, GoPro’s new camera can be worn as a helmet cam, so you base jumpers can capture your favourite experiences.

Also, the new trend regarding selfie sticks – Hero4 can be used as one, but just don’t do it a Disney park, because you’ll get kicked out. The Star Wars franchise owners have banned the usage of the selfie stick on their perimeter because of safety reasons.

Disney spokeperson Kim Prunty has stated that the company – ” […] strives to provide a great experience for the entire family and unfortunately selfie sticks have become a growing safety concern for both our guests and cast.”

But I digress.

Hero4 is witnessing some competition from Polaroid that sells it’s Cube camera for about $100 – that’s way cheaper than what GoPro’s Hero4 Session is, and it has almost all of its functionality. Also from Xiaomi’s Yi which sells under $100 – price may differ from retailer to retailer.

But why pick the GoPro Hero4? That’s easy. Quality over quantity. The California-based camera maker is known around the world for their top-notch products. I would rather pay a buck more and have something that will last me a life time, than pay for something cheaper that will break in a year or two.

What do you think? Is GoPro’s new camera worth it? Or are you sticking with your old one? Tell us in the comments section below!

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The Most Important Announcements from Google I/O 2015

May 29, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

Google I/O 2015 started yesterday, on the 28th of May, and the big G decided to focus on Android.

We’ll most likely see more news today regarding their self-driving cars, and Project Fi, which wants to be Google’s wireless carrier. We’ll update this article as soon as we get the news, so check on us periodically if you want to stay up to date with Google’s plans.

Google I/O 2015 Android Everywhere!

I’m not that surprised that I/O 2015’s first day focused on Android – it’s a really big project. We discussed some of the Android M rumours in a recent article, and I’m happy to say that we hit it right on its head! Remember, this isn’t an revolutionary piece of software, it’s just the next logical evolutionary step.

You’ll notice how it looks like its previous iteration Lollipop, but with improvements in power optimization, new services, and how apps interact.

App permissions

Android M won’t annoy you with a wall of permission requests, like previous updates are currently doing – it’s a little bit frustrating to say the least; whenever you install an app, you have to go through its permissions and accept, or deny them. Now, everything is going to change.

You won’t be needed to look at them after you installed an app. Permissions will be prompted when the developers calls them up, and you can look at what a specific app can access, and deny its clearance – I’m a little bit paranoid when it comes to apps taking a look at my photo gallery, or calendar.

Chrome is your new in-app browser overlord

I was expecting this. Now, when you click on a link within an app it moves your view to the browser, or an in-app website – which is poorly made, and suffers from optimization issues. At Google I/O 2015, the company announced that there’s going to be a new feature that will involve custom Chrome tabs in-app – it will load web pages faster by pre-loading certain elements like passwords, and user-names.

Also, Google has decided to make it easier for other apps you use. If you spot a tweet, and click on it, the Twitter app will open, instead of a webpage.

Improvements to battery life and USB-C

This is what I was hoping to hear at Google I/O 2015. Android M will feature Doze. A new feature that will put your smartphone into a deep sleep – it uses motion detection, and if it senses that your device is inactive for a long time it will trigger the feature. It sacrifices app freshness, as Google likes to call it, for better battery life.

I seriously don’t have one problem with this, and I fully applaud their initiative. While Doze is active, the user can still receive messages, and notifications – alarms also have a priority.

When compared with a Nexus 9 running Lollipop, the Android M device lasted twice as longer – this makes me all giddy!

USB Type-C will be fully supported by Android M.

Google Now on Tap

Google Now will become your personal assistant. It’s going to get a ton of new improvements, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping here.

The new addition to the already present feature will be called Google Now on Tap. It’s really simple. Let’s say that you get a message from a friend asking you if you want to go to the new Mad Max movie. Now on Tap displays a couple of cards once you hold the home button – they will prompt you to the trailer of the movie, information about it, reviews, and so on.

Those cards can let you set up a to-do list if you receive texts about dinner, or laundry. Also, it gives you map routes, restaurants near you, and Yelp listings.

Even better. When tested, in the demo, by asking ” What’s his real name?”, Google Now searched on spotify the artist that was currently playing, and brought up Skrillex’s real name – without needing to specify what’s Skrillex’s real name.

Free online storage for Google Photos app

The cloud war started a couple of days ago, and Google seems to be winning battle after battle. They just announced that the Google Photos app will get a revamp, and it will also feature free unlimited online storage – photos up to 16-megapixels, and videos up to 1080p.

And you know what? It’s available right now for Android, iOS, and the web. You can also better organize your memories by pinpointing them on a timeline, or by certain locations – this is me on the beach, this is me near the beach, this is me taking my fifth selfie on the beach.

Offline Google Maps and Chrome

In an attempt to optimize their apps for poor developing countries, Google now let’s you save maps to use in offline modes, and also webpages through Chrome.

In a strategy to let people who have poor connectivity get their desired information, Google has built a new algorithm that will display fewer images on a webpage, or in a search, for those who lag.

In offline mode, Google Maps will be able to give proper turn-by-turn indications, show reviews, and list information.

Android Wear gets a needed polish

Google has reported that since its Android Wear début more than 4,000 apps have been developed for the smartwatch OS. The library of apps is constantly growing, and it has just received a couple of new needed apps like – Uber, Forsquare and Citymapper amongst others.

Google knows that the smartwatch screen is always-on, and apps should be always-on too. Your chosen apps will be feature on the screen in a white, and black low power usage icons.

When navigating Google Maps, directions will be constantly available on your screen, so you can glance at them easily.

Project Brillo to take care of your home

Project Brillo is Google’s attempt to automatize meaningless tasks like setting your thermostat, locking your doors, or lighting up the room.

It’s going to be available for developers sometimes in Q3 of this year. What we do know is that it’s derived from Android, and it only takes its most basic features – like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, so it can offer low energy usage, but still maintain a weave of communications.

This Weave of communications will let Brillo devices talk to each other.

More info will be announced in Q4 of this year!

Android Pay

Let’s see if the next iteration of Google Wallet will actually work – hopefully, it won’t prove to be a failed next step. Android Pay is Google’s counter to Apple’s Pay, and the company promises that more than 700,000 stores will feature Android Pay – Dunkin’ Donuts, and Chipotle to name just a few.

More so, the feature will come pre-installed if you purchase your device from Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T.

Android Pay will only run on KitKat or higher, so those of you who still have a device that features JellyBean should consider moving up.

HBO Now

We were hoping that Google would announce something about their Android TV, but this would have to do. No more Apple exclusivity, HBO Now is coming to Android – the streaming-only service will let you watch your favourite HBO shows like Game of Thrones, and Game of Thrones, and of course Game of Thrones. Let’s not forget True Detective, but especially Game of Thrones.

Google I/O 2015 Virtual Reality

Yup, Google is going to massively tackle virtual reality now – it’s already a big trend, and every day I hear new companies announcing their plans regarding virtual reality development, whether they are cameras, and lenses, software, and apps, or just simply VR gear!

Google Cardboard gets remodelled!

Last year Google released their Cardboard, and now, the remodelled version will be able to sport six inch devices – it’s also iPhone compatible!

In order to garner fans from the enemy, Google will be releasing its SDK for Android, and iOS – a dedicated app was just launched on Apple’s App store.

Expeditions is Google’s new virtual reality education tool. It will permit teachers, and students to perform trips using the VR Cardboard – teachers will be able to control the experience with a tablet.

VR camera rig for everyone

GoPro just announced at the Re/Code conference that they are planning on building a new spherical camera rig for virtual reality. Now, Google has announced that they are teaming with them in order to build a vr camera rig that will be available for wide usage.

It’s going to be a circular 16-camera rig, that will be like a kick-start to the VR era, and it will offer everyone the possibility of filming VR-compatible video.

For more info regarding today’s schedule check out Google’s I/O 2015 official website.

We’ll be updating this list as soon as more info is announced.

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GoPro is Building a Spherical Camera Rig for Virtual Reality

May 28, 2015 By Michael Turner Leave a Comment

I was beginning to wonder when GoPro would announce to the world that they too are tackling virtual reality – in some way or another.

This doesn’t come as a surprise at all, and it really seems the logical thing to do when you’re known as one of the industry’s best camera manufacturers.

Not only virtual reality, but also drones. These two things are in the company’s sights. The spherical camera rig that they just announced will be built with virtual reality usage in mind, and another model is being built to offer the best view possible when mounted on drones.

GoPro CEO Nick Woodman announced these two thrilling projects at the Code conference during an interview. Just imagine the interviewer’s face – Oh, so, you’re going to revolutionize the industry once again?

I would have had the biggest beaming grin on my face after hearing the news.

We already knew that GoPro was aiming at building a spherical camera, because they announced it last month when they also bought Kolor – a virtual reality company that is known for bundling up footage to offer the supreme VR experience. The hints were there, and as I said before, this comes as no surprise.

Take a look at the footage released last month. Remember that you can rotate the view!

That was just extraordinary. For a man that is really really scared of heights, GoPro is letting me experience something that I couldn’t have done all by myself.

The six-camera spherical array will be available for purchase later this year, and the GoPro Quadcopter will be released sometime in 2016 – there is no official date at this moment. There are rumours that the GoPro done will cost something between $500 and $1000.

I would definitely buy a Quadcopter from GoPro so I could use it to take some fabulous footage, but for $1000 – worst case scenario – I would rather take a trip to Italy, and experience beauty with my own eyes.

What are your plans? Do you have any intention in buying these new toys?

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Google I/O 2015 Android Everywhere!

Google I/O 2015 Virtual Reality

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