Virtual Reality Goggles May Be Next Must-Have

Virtual Reality Goggles¹ May Be Next Must-Have

The real-time counter on the GSMA Intelligence website shows the constant rise of mobile phone subscribers worldwide.

The market is huge and there's plenty of money to be made, but there's a design challenge for manufacturers.

"How do you differentiate² a rectangular block with a touchscreen, a battery and a camera?” said Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight. “What we've seen at Mobile World Congress is some of the manufacturers addressing that with some of the launches they've delivered."

Mobile World Congress, one of the world's biggest mobile shows, is taking place through Thursday in Barcelona.

The cool factor

For Sony, the focus is on the phone's camera. Its Xperia X phone has a camera that is ready to take a picture in less than 0.6 second.

For LG, the new G5 has a modular design and an assortment³ of attachments⁴ that add battery life and upgrade the phone's camera function.

For Samsung, the Galaxy⁵ S7 has a larger battery and the ability to add memory — as much as 200 gigabytes.

The price point

But these gadgets⁶ cost a lot, so manufacturers in China and India are coming out with cheaper smartphones.

"We are seeing a swing from developed markets to developing markets,” said Neil Mawston of Strategy Analytics. “So, more Chinese brands. More Indian brands. And I think, potentially, also more African brands in the future, as well."

But with cameras that can shoot 360 degrees, another opportunity is opening up: virtual reality. Samsung is already pairing its phone with VR goggles.

The VR key

"These are the devices that are going to generate loads of content,” Wood said, “and user-generated content is going to be key to driving the market."

Manufacturers are hoping that, very soon, almost everybody will want a set of VR goggles for gaming, exploring distant places or mingling⁷ with friends and family who are not physically⁸ present. And connectivity may soon be available to new areas.

"We are, this year, going to launch our first satellite over Africa in order to be able to work with operators to extend connectivity and beam down Internet there," said Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.

CCS Insight predicts that by the end of this year, consumers will buy as many as 13 million virtual reality headsets.

1 goggles   

n.护目镜

参考例句：

• Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
• My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。

2 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

3 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

4 attachments   

n.（用电子邮件发送的）附件( attachment的名词复数 )；附着；连接；附属物

参考例句：

• The vacuum cleaner has four different attachments. 吸尘器有四个不同的附件。
• It's an electric drill with a range of different attachments. 这是一个带有各种配件的电钻。

5 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

6 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

7 mingling   

adj.混合的

参考例句：

• There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间，已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
• The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。

8 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。