By Ibo Fung
Chinese leading VR devices maker DeePoon announced in Beijing on Thursday that it will begin mass production of its all-in-one VR headset M2, as well as start crowdfunding on Taobao.
The crowdfunding will begin on April 1, when a limited number of DeePoon M2 will be sold for RMB 2,999 (USD 460) each, about half the price of Gear VR and Samsung S7 together.
“An all-in-one virtual reality (VR) headset is the future of the Chinese VR market,” said Chen Zhaoyang, founder and CEO of DeePoon. “DeePoon M2 can provide users with an unprecedented clear visual effect.”
High-quality hardware is essential to that experience. M2 uses Samsung’s 2K AMOLED display screen with a refresh rate between 60-70Hz and a resolution reaching 2560×1440. This 5.7-inch screen provides a field of view (FOV) at 96°.
“The FOV of an IMAX cinema is about 45°. This means M2 has an even better viewing result,” said Chen.
A powerful processor is equally important. M2 has a Samsung Exynos 7420 processor, which is used by Samsung in its Galaxy S6 smartphones, and M2 also uses British semiconductor company ARM’s Mali-T760 graphics processing unit (GPU).
“These keep M2’s delay time at 19ms,” Chen added. “Only Oculus and DeePoon can make it under 20ms.”
But all this is useless without rich VR content. DeePoon has over 100 VR games from developers including South Korea’s LOA MEDIA GROUP, Spain’s Absologix, and China’s Kingnet and Chukong Technologies, and the company cooperates with video resource providers including iQIYI, Alpha and Wasu Media.
DeePoon also has its user community, Pengke Community.
“Users can get technical support in Pengke Community,” Chen explained. “It’s also a place for user communication and resource sharing.”
Despite so many players in China, the Shanghai-based 2014-founded company is considered a pioneer, aiming to compete with the likes of Oculus, HTC and Sony.
DeePoon’s ambition is backed by Chinese tech giant Xunlei, its major Series B investor in December 2015.
“It’s our largest strategic investment ever,” said Zou Shenglong, chairman and CEO of Xunlei. “Because DeePoon started early, remains focused and can also be innovative.”
(Top photo taken by Ibo Fung.)