Forbes
Date: May 11, 2020
By: Ralph Jennings

The global coronavirus outbreak has brought booming business to online conferencing software. That’s, of course, because governments around the world are asking people to stay home and ordering workplace closures—two measures aimed at stopping the virus spread. Now, Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is building on the remote connection craze with a virtual reality meeting service. You send your avatar to the event and put on a VR headset to see the avatars of colleagues and clients. Techies call these types of VR meetings remote “extended reality,” or XR.

HTC’s latest VR service, called VIVE Sync, will give its VR business unit a lift because users can meet only after the buy the company’s headgear, analysts say. Its gear, also sold under the VIVE brand, has a strong reputation among VR fans. But the novelty of immersive meetings is expected to curb any surge in income. Being new means lots of bugs yet to be worked ou

“Overall, although COVID-19 has generated some demand from remote extended reality devices, especially for those expecting more interactive and immersive experiences, the popularity of the remote XR work platform is still limited,” says Wallace Liu, analyst with Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute in Taipei.    [FULL  STORY]