HTC set to launch VR smartphones in April

Taipei, March 1 (CNA) Taiwan-based smartphone brand HTC Corp., which has started a virtual reality business, announced Tuesday its plans to launch a brand of innovative smartphones in April that can be used to enter Viverse, an animated virtual world the company has created.

In addition to Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and FarEasTone, HTC also has partnered with such leading international telecom companies as China Mobile, Etisalt, Hutch Group and Zai Group to create Viverse, an animated virtual world and work on the new smartphones, the company said.

HTC VIVE, an HTC virtual reality brand, unveiled a number of innovations and products to make life seamless for people exploring Viverse, the company's vision of the metaverse, at this week's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.

During the event, HTC VIVE in collaboration with major telecom operators and software providers debuted a live demo of its latest updates to the Viverse.

The concept of the metaverse is still in its infancy and standards and technology around the industry have yet to be developed, according to Charles Huang (黃昭穎), general manager of the HTC Vive in the Asia-Pacific region,

HTC Vive is in its initial stage in developing the Viverse, Huang said, but added that it now has thousands of partners to offer a diverse portfolio of mobile and VR hardware, software and content.

The company is also planning to work with the Kaohsiung City government to introduce the latest updates to the Viverse to various sectors in the city, allowing anyone to jump into the virtual world at any time from any place via smartphones and other devices that have a web browser able to run VR experiences.