Seagate and HTC VIVE Unveil Virtual Reality Power Drive

Seagate Technology plc and HTC VIVE (HTC Corporation) have jointly launched the VR Power Drive at the 2018 HTC New Ecosystem Conference in Shenzhen, China, helping VR device users expand their storage capacity and battery life.

VR Power Drive

Virtual reality is developing with speed and momentum in China, and VR applications are emerging one after another in the fields of entertainment, education and healthcare, etc.

According to a report jointly released by iResearch Consulting Group and Greenlight Insights, China will become a main VR market globally. In 2016, the VR market in China reached RMB 3.46 billion (about $550 million). With high growth rate, the VR market in China is estimated to exceed RMB 10 billion (about $1.6 billion) in 2018. In the next five years, the CAGR of the VR market could exceed 80%. Moreover, by 2021, China is forecast to become the largest VR market in the world, and the whole scale of the industry could reach RMB 79.02 billion (about $12.64 billion), with the VR headset device market forecast to be RMB 29.75 billion (about $4.76 billion). With the overall market for VR hardware expanding, the market of content, including VR games, VR films and television, as well as live streaming, are also growing rapidly, bringing a more comprehensive entertainment experience to users. ^(*)

All-in-one VR device VIVE FOCUS

Tailor-made for the high-end, all-in-one VR device VIVE FOCUS, the VR Power Drive combines an external mobile media storage and portable battery into one solution. It helps users extend their use by providing them with additional storage space to carry and backup their VR and mobile content as well as additional battery life. Seagate VR Power Drive offers a storage capacity of 1TB for users’ digital content. With its integrated MicroB cable and USB-C adapter, the drive can connect to the VIVE Focus without the help of a computer allowing users to directly access their library of files stored on the VR Power Drive from their VIVE Focus. Additionally, the built-in 5,000mAh battery of the drive allows users to extend the battery life of their VR device any time anywhere. The drive also provides its users with a belt clip to increase the portability of the drive. HTC smartphone users can expand the capacity of their mobile phones by connecting directly to the drive to access, view, and backup their mobile content or extend the battery range of their phones with the flick of a switch to activate the power bank feature.

“Since the establishment of the strategic partnership with HTC VIVE this January, we have been working together and committed to jointly developing solutions for VR devices. Today, we are delighted that we have devised the Seagate VR Power Drive, which is tailored to the VIVE Focus, by applying Seagate’s unique storage expertise to meet VIVE Focus users’ increasing needs for data,” said Jim Murphy, EVP, WW sales and marketing, Seagate. “Seagate has been paying close attention to the development of emerging application fields. We’ll continue to collaborate with industry-leading partners in accordance with the actual demands in the application market and join hands with them in the development of innovative storage products to deal with storage challenges together. In the years to come, we will continue to cooperate with HTC VIVE, and further optimize storage solutions according to the characteristics of VR applications to better meet the special data needs of VIVE products and bring VIVE users the optimal experience.“

“We are extremely happy to form this cooperation with Seagate to offer a brand new type of accessory to the VIVE Reality ecosystem. As VR users become more mobile and smart phone users consume more rich media, the two things they both need are longer battery life and larger storage,” said Alvin Wang, president, HTC VIVE, China. “The Seagate VR Power Drive is the perfect device to serve this need. Doubling battery life while putting hundreds of high-resolution movies in your pocket are benefits every modern user can see value in. This is just the beginning of a long and fruitful cooperation.“

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