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Report: Google aiming for high-end, PC-less VR device

Marco della Cava
USA TODAY
Clay Bavor, shown here with a wooden version of Google Cardboard, is leading the company's virtual reality efforts.

SAN FRANCISCO - Google's virtual reality initiatives are threatening to overshadow the company's headline grabbing autonomous car updates.

According to a report on The Wall Street Journal's site Thursday, Google is said to be pursuing a sophisticated VR goggle that would not need to be tethered by cables to a powerful computer.

If developed, such a device would represent a notable product breakthrough in VR, technology that is expected to begin taking its place in the entertainment lives of consumers in earnest this year with the rollout of products from Oculus, HTC, Sony and others.

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Currently, VR fans have three options when it comes to viewing VR content: using their smartphone with a free or inexpensive holder such as Google Cardboard; employing a slightly more high-tech smartphone-based goggle such as Samsung Gear VR ($100); or purchasing products such as Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, which when accompanied by the computing gear required to run the glasses can cost as much as $2,000.

A cordless high-end VR experience would have instant appeal. While the content experience on a device such as Oculus Rift is undeniably more engaging than a smartphone-friendly goggle, the cords that link Oculus to the computer are cumbersome and detract from the immersive quality of the VR event.

This is yet another in a series of recent media reports anchored to anonymous sources that suggest Google is putting VR on the front burner. The search giant is to some degree playing catch-up to Silicon Valley rival Facebook, which identified VR's promise when it presciently purchased Oculus for $2 billion in the summer of 2014.

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Last week, the Financial Times reported that Google is pursuing what appears to be a rival to Samsung Gear VR, which is powered by Oculus technology. The product would amount to a goosed version of Google Cardboard, with more sophisticated chips and sensors and a robust plastic shell. The FT also reported that Apple is said to be diving into virtual and augmented reality tech, although the company has never acknowledged as much.

Google named Clay Bavor to head its VR program last month. Bavor used to oversee Gmail, Drive and other apps. He also was responsible for the development of Google Cardboard, and is a passionate evangelist for the revolutionary power of virtual reality.

Follow USA TODAY tech reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter @marcodellacava.

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